Astronauts Wrestle With Solar Panel

Damage on solar wings raises stakes on installation tomorrow
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 29, 2007 2:10 PM CDT
Astronauts Wrestle With Solar Panel
Astronaut Scott Parazynski exits the hatch on the Quest airlock of the International Space Station early Sunday Oct. 28, 2007 on the second space walk of Discovery's mission. Parazynski and Daniel Tani detached a nearly 35,000-pound space station girder so it can be relocated later in the mission. (AP...   (Associated Press)

Astronauts continued work on the space station today, using a robot arm to move a huge 17.5-ton solar panel into position for installation during a spacewalk tomorrow—to some musical accompaniment. "It's a heck of a lot more fun flying the arm with some Huey Lewis in the background," radioed one astronaut.

The installation of the solar truss is even more important following the discovery yesterday of damage to the station's power system, the AP reports. The shuttle crew has a packed schedule, and repairs will probably be handled by the three space station astronauts after Discovery's departure. Meanwhile, astronaut and Bostonian Stephanie Wilson found out the World Series outcome today: "Go Sox! Woooo!" (More Discovery space shuttle stories.)

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