By DPA
Washington : Space Shuttle Discovery astronauts discovered what appeared to be a tear in a solar array wing installed during a spacewalk aboard the orbiting International Space Station, halting an operation to reposition and activate the 17.5-tonne solar array and truss.
US astronauts Scott Parazynski and Douglas Wheelock spent more than seven hours outside in an operation with other crewmembers inside the station Tuesday.
Astronauts inside operated a robotic arm to move the solar array and truss, after which the space-walkers permanently attached the truss in its new home and prepared it for operation.
But the unfolding of the array was halted when about 75-percent completed, to allow astronauts to take snapshots of the apparent tear and send back to the ground crew for evaluation.
The effort had been lauded as “hugely successful” by the ground crew in Houston, Texas as the solar panels were unfolded. NASA considered the two-stage manoeuvring and attachment one of the most complex undertakings in the station’s nine-year history.
The two-man space-walking crew also inspected a critical joint that rotates solar panels after debris was discovered during a spacewalk Sunday. NASA said the astronauts found “no evidence” of earlier debris.
A different solar panel joint was set to be inspected in a fourth spacewalk Thursday.
In an earlier spacewalk, the astronauts installed the new Italian-made Harmony module, which will serve as a tunnel that will connect the ISS to the European-built Columbus research module in December and the Japanese Space Agency’s Kibo module next year.
The Discovery crew is scheduled to conduct five spacewalks, the most of any shuttle mission to the ISS. NASA also said Tuesday that the Discovery mission would be extended by one day for repairs to the station’s power supply.