This
story was updated at 6:33 p.m. EDT.
The International
Space Station unfurled its last set of solar wings Friday, boosting the
orbiting laboratory up to full power after more than 10 years of construction.
Astronauts
aboard the station and docked shuttle Discovery kept all eyes on the
two expansive solar arrays as they were remotely deployed from a console
inside the orbiting lab. After just over two hours of work, Discovery skipper
Lee Archambault radioed Mission Control that both wings were fully extended and
looking good.
"Tremendous
news! Great work guys," Mission Control called back. "You've got a whole bunch
of happy people down here as well."
"We're
very happy as well," Archambault said. "Full power!"
Each of the
new 115-foot (35-meter) wings unfolded gracefully, with none of the potentially
damaging glitches that have plagued past array deployments. Astronauts
unfolded new arrays in stages, allowing them to warm in the sun to reduce the
stickiness.
As the
wings hit full extension, the tense mood of Mission Control eased considerably
as flight controllers erupted into applause, station flight director Kwatsi
Alibaruho told reporters late Friday. He received messages that some engineers
shed tears of joy.
"We were
literally on pins and needles," Alibaruho said. "It was just really like a
great weight lifted."
The new
$298 million solar arrays during a Thursday spacewalk, when astronauts moored
the massive 16-ton girder supporting the new wings to the starboard-most side
of the orbiting laboratory. By the end of today's deployment, all eight of the
space station's solar wings - four on each side - were unfurled, completing
construction on the outpost's 335-foot (102-meter) backbone. They represent
the last major U.S.-built piece of the space station. The first piece of the
space station launched in 1998, with its first backbone segment lifting off two
years later.
"It was
absolutely beautiful," station commander Michael Fincke said in a televised
interview, adding that there was a "shout of triumph" as the wings unfurled.
The
astronauts aboard Discovery and the station are now preparing for the second
spacewalk of their mission, set for Saturday, to upgrade systems outside the
outpost.
Space
station power play
The new
solar arrays are vital since they will complete
the station's power grid, boosting the current system by 25 percent. In
all, the station is designed use all four sets of solar wings to produce enough
electricity to power 42 houses on Earth, NASA has said.
Astronauts
and scientists are counting on that power supply so they can ramp up science
operations and double the station's crew size up to six people in late May.
This last set of solar wings should generate about 36 kilowatts total, 15
kilowatts of which is reserved for science. It should double the current
science power supply, mission managers said.
Astronauts
also made repairs to the outpost's urine recycling system inside the orbital
lab. The spaceflyers will install a new centrifuge to distill urine back into
drinking water. The system is part of a larger water recycler that converts
urine, astronaut sweat and condensation back into pure water for drinking, food
preparation and bathing.
Discovery
launched toward the station late Sunday on a 13-day mission to swap out a
member of the outpost's crew and deliver the new solar arrays truss. Two of the
mission's three spacewalks remain. Four were originally planned, but NASA
trimmed the flight due to launch delays in order to complete the construction
work and depart the station before the launch of a previously scheduled Russian
Soyuz spacecraft next week.
Discovery is
set to undock from the station on Wednesday and land on March 28.
SPACE.com
is providing continuous coverage of STS-119 with reporter Clara Moskowitz and
senior editor Tariq Malik in New York. Click here for mission
updates and SPACE.com's live NASA TV video feed.
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