Spacewalking astronaut Scott Parazynski is outfitting the exterior of the new U.S. Harmony module, which was delivered by the crew of shuttle Discovery and hoisted into place Friday at the International Space Station.
Dan Tani, meanwhile, is heading out to to the starboard end of the station's central truss. Once there, Tani will inspect a 10-foot rotary joint that enables solar wings to turn like a Ferris wheel so they can constantly track the sun to maximize electrical output.
Here's a view down the truss from Tani's helmet-cam:
Engineers in recent weeks have detected increased friction during rotation of the wheel-like joint. The increased friction indicates that something might be lodged in the joint and is interfering with its rotation. The concern is that the joint might stall during rotation, which would significantly reduce the power-generating capability of the station's starboard solar wings.
Parazynski is installing 11 handrails, two gap spanners, three worksite interfaces, an electrical connector and five trunion and keel pin covers on the exterior of the Harmony module.
Four pins will be removed from the radial berthing mechanisms, and launch restraints will be released on the zenith berthing petals and 16 caps under micrometeoroid debris covers.
The two spacewalkers together will fix a grapple fixture to the module. The grapple fixture was temporarily tied down on the hull of Harmony during a spacewalk last Thursday.
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