Major Project Achieved for Space Station

In what capsule communicator Pam Melroy called a "big day for space station," astronauts Joe Tanner and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper successfully completed a round of tasks during the morning's spacewalk, including the preparation of new solar panels. With a view of the Indian Ocean in the background, the Atlantis crew continued their assembly and maintenance of the station.

The unfurling of the $372 million solar panel was part of the first construction mission since the 2003 Columbia tragedy. The installation came off without a hitch and carries with it several benefits now that it is fully deployed. Among its uses will be the regulation of equipment temperatures and doubling the station's power supply.

"They made this difficult ISS construction project look easy, and the deployment of the new arrays was a sight to behold," said Brad Haddock, Lockheed Martin ISS program director. "It is a testament to the professionalism of the STS-115 crew and the mission support team."

A third pair of solar arrays will be delivered to the International Space Station in 2007, according to builder Lockheed Martin, who provided the previous panels. As part of the largest deployable space structure ever built, these arrays are the most powerful electricity-producing units in orbit, the company stated. A total of eight solar array wings are planned for the space station, and will continue to provide ongoing power for the operations onboard.

Hard Day's Work

Wrapping up the final day of the shuttle's 11-day mission, Tanner and Piper completed installation on a wireless TV antenna. Other maintenance tasks include the replacement a faulty antenna assembly on the S1 truss and a new P3/P4 truss segment for operation, which will reportedly provide for a quarter of the station's power.

They were also able to retrieve a materials exposure experiment from the station's exterior, according to the official release.

In order to complete some of these tasks, the astronauts required the use of the station's robotic arm, which was operated by Steve MacLean, the first Canadian astronaut to use the arm built by his home country.

NASA also stated that the station's mobile transporter will be moved to a new worksite. The transporter is used move the station's Integrated Truss Structure, which carried the folded up 240-foot-long solar panels.

The International Space Station is a $100 billion project, reportedly the one of the most sophisticated and the most challenging in history. The six-member crew is scheduled to arrive home at the Kennedy Space Center the morning of Sept. 20.