Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Live in orbit: Contamination widespread














Spacewalking astronauts Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani removed a second thermal cover from a solar wing rotary joint on the starboard end of the International Space Station's central truss and found more metallic debris beneath it.

Tani reported that the amount of debris is about the same as he found during inspections he did during two previous excursions outside the outpost.

The discovery shows that the damage within the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint is widespread -- a clue that might help engineers determine the source of the problem. NASA needs to fix the joint to optimize power generation at the station, paving the way to the delivery of European and Japanese science labs in early 2008.

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