Written by Derek Kessler on
Monday, 05 November 2007
It took over seven hours, but Scott Parazynski successfully repaired one of the torn solar arrays of the International Space Station. Assisted by Doug Wheelcock and guided on more than 100 feet of robotic arm, Parazynksi attached five 'cufflinks' to stabilize the solar wing. The rings were hand crafted aboard the shuttle as part of the quick effort to repair the station before Discovery departed.
Overall, the repairs went well. In fact, the only problem arose when Parazynski and Wheelock lost a pair of needlenose pliers when they were reentering the ISS. In total, the pair spent seven hours and nineteen minutes spacewalking in what was the fourth and final EVA of Discovery's tumultuous mission.
This morning Discovery undocked from the station and completed a fly-around - the shuttle circled around the ISS to inspect the repair work. Pilot George Zamka manually guided the shuttle in a loop 600 feet out from the station and then set a course for a return to Earth. The crew has completed a second scan of the shuttle's heat shield prior to reentry, and again did not find any notable damage.
As of right now, there is a 30% chance of rain at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, for the landing on Wednesday at 1:02 PM EST. Should weather present an obstacle, the shuttle can land at Edwards Air Force Base in California or at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
It took over seven hours, but Scott Parazynski successfully repaired one of the torn solar arrays of the International Space Station. Assisted by Doug Wheelcock and guided on more than 100 feet of robotic arm, Parazynksi attached five 'cufflinks' to stabilize the solar wing. The rings were hand crafted aboard the shuttle as part of the quick effort to repair the station before Discovery departed.
