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Two NASA astronauts, Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio, repair a shorted solar array on the International Space Station (ISS). Photo/NASA TV
Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio manage to fix one of the new solar panels and repair a short in one of the eight power lines of the International Space Station. They also managed to partially restore power to the space station’s power lines that had been cut by Saturday, December 3, 2022.
“We work efficiently because the plans are well structured. Truly extraordinary. The team that brought us together and on time did a great job,” Cassada told Mission Control by radio on Monday (5/2/2022), as quoted by the Space.com page.
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The astronauts begin their journey wearing special suits and exit through the US Quest airlock. From there, the two proceeded to set up the initial job site and repair one of two new ISS roll-out solar arrays (iROSA) delivered by SpaceX’s CRS-26 Dragon spacecraft on Nov. 27.
Cassada also installed a leg brace on the end of the ISS robotic arm, which was then used to transport the 340 kg iROSA to its installation location on the ISS right frame structure. NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Koichi Wakata, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronauts, both crew members of Expedition 38, operate the arms from inside the space station.
“Koichi, that’s great. Thank you for picking me up. I will definitely use my ride sharing app and give you five stars when I get back inside,” Cassada said.
With the new group set atop the pre-installed bracket mounts, Cassada and Rubio opened the iROSA group. Then tighten the bolts to hold it in place.
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Working in the dark, when the old solar panel wing was without electricity, the astronauts laid cables to connect the new iROSA to the station’s power supply. At noon, Cassada removed two bolts and iROSA began to open.
