Spacewalking astronauts equipped the International Space Station with the first in a series of powerful new solar panels Sunday, overcoming suit problems and other obstacles …
Spacewalking astronauts equipped the International Space Station with the first in a series of powerful new solar panels Sunday, overcoming suit problems and other obstacles with muscle and persistence. It took two spacewalks for French astronaut Thomas Pesquet and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough to install and unfurl the panel to its full 63 feet (19 meters) in length. The solar wing unrolled like a red carpet once the final set of bolts was released, relying solely on pent-up energy. The slow but steady extension took 10 minutes, with station cameras providing live TV views. “It is beautiful,” Pesquet called out. “Well done, both of you,” Mission Control replied once the operation was complete. “That was great to see.” As the 6 1/2-hour spacewalk concluded, Kimbrough, who has three children, wished “Happy Father’s Day” to all the flight controller dads. “Thanks for working with us on a Sunday.” The astronauts started Sunday’s spacewalk picking up where they left off Wednesday, when a string of problems prevented them from unrolling the high-tech solar panel.
