NASA Mission, International Space Station Troubled with Space Debris

NASA Scientists are concerned with an unexpected threat to their space station: contamination in the joints.

Space.com reports that The National Aeronautics and Space Administration engineers discussed some contamination found in the joint of key equipment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The mechanism is used to turn solar arrays on the ISS. The Solar Alpha Rotary Joint tracks solar rays on the left hand side of the ISS and functions like a giant paddlewheel. The debris in the joint could cause the wheel to draw too much power while rotating, causing it to stall.

The starboard solar arrays and joint were installed in June of this year, but began showing signs of problems over the last two months. Vibrations and current spikes were reported by an engineer who saw a video camera view from the ISS shake. The Flight controllers then sent an astronaut to look, hoping the shake was only from obstruction by a loose bolt on a thermal blanket.

Daniel Tani, a U.S. astronaut collected samples of what appears to be metal shavings during a space walk on Sunday. He used orange tape to lift off the grit from the surface of the joint. "There's quite a bit," Tani said. "I'd almost say that it looks like it's been corroded in some way. It's quite clear that there's metal to metal scraping, and it's widespread."

Although there is no conformation that the shavings are metal, NASA officials are certain that it does not belong. Mike Suffredini, NASA's ISS program manager, voiced his concerns. "With this kind of contamination in the system, you don't want to see it anywhere," he stated. He feels that the shavings could be from some aluminum foil-like Mylar that is attached to insulation near the device. The samples will be taken back by the space shuttle Discovery astronauts once they finish the construction mission.

NASA officials hope that this space malady does not affect future flights. The European Space Agency plans to launch a laboratory for the ISS in December. They also plan to deliver pieces of the Kibo laboratory from Japan in the following year. Although construction delays from issues such as the debris could happen, Suffredini stated that this problem could be resolved at another time. "We've got lots of time to work this problem; it's not an immediate issue."
Live broadcasts of the construction mission (titled STS-120) can be seen on NASA TV.

SOURCE:
Space.com

URL:
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/071028-iss-solararray-joint.html