Computer commands soon will be sent to one of the twin solar wings on the P6 truss segment. The wings each have 31 1/2 sections, called bays, and the deployment plan calls for a single bay to be extended before ground controllers attempt to unfurl the remainder of the array.
Mission specialists Douglas Wheelock and Scott Parazynski, meanwhile, are preparing to bolt a 525-pound power distribution box the size of a small refrigerator to an external stowage platform attached to the International Space Station's U.S. Quest airlock.
Grasping handrails on the huge unit, Wheelock is anchored to the end of the shuttle's 50-foot robot arm, which is being operated by Discovery pilot George Zamka.
Zamka "flew" Wheelock into Discovery's payload bay so the spacewalker could retrieve the Main Bus Swinging Unit. Working on the flight deck of Discovery, Zamka carefully hoisted Wheelock up to the stowage platform.
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