STS-116: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:13, 16 December 2006

Revision as of 11:34, 16 December 2006

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[[Image:STS-116 Z1 Solar Array Kink.jpg|300px|right|thumb|This digital still image was taken by a crew member aboard the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' of a kink that occurred in the port-side P6 solar array during the first attempt to retract that array on [[December 13]]. The crew later extended the array and cleared this kink. The slow retraction of the array was then begun again with similar retraction and extension cycles repeated as the day progressed.]]

At 00:50 UTC, the retraction efforts were abandoned for the day. The problems, which appear to have been caused by a loss of tension in the solar array [[guy-guide wires]],<ref>{{cite namenews | first = "NASAWilliam TV">NASA| TVlast = Harwood | title = Crew struggles to get balky array retracted enough to permit other critical work | url = http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts116/061213wingretract/index3.html | work = Spaceflight Now| date = 2006-12-13 | accessdate = 2006-12-16}}</ref> had still not been solved, although 14 of the 31 bays on the array had been retracted (leaving 17 bays extended). This was enough to leave the port side arrays in a safe position to commence the activation of the [[Solar Alpha Rotary Joint]] (SARJ) at 01:00 UTC, allowing the solar arrays on the [[Integrated_Truss_Structure#P3/P4, S3/S4 Truss Assemblies|P3/P4]] truss to rotate to follow the sun. <ref>{{cite news | title = Pesky panels foil NASA's finest | url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/12/13/space.shuttle.ap/index.html | work = CNN | date = 2006-12-13 | accessdate = 2006-12-14}}</ref>

=== December 14 (Flight day 6 - EVA #2) ===