It's unclear how much impact the rip will have on power-generation capabilities or whether the station will be able to produce enough electricity to support the delivery of the European Columbus laboratory as planned in December. The more likely upshot is that there would be a degredation of electrical output rather than a complete loss of power-generation capability.
Twenty-five of 31 1/2 bays are deployed -- or about 75 percent of the wing. This much is certain: spacewalking astronauts cannot reach that part of the array because neither the station's construction crane no the shuttle's robot arm can extend that far.
Engineers are looking at these photos, among others, to determine what course of action to take:
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