U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy Solar Energy Technologies Program – News Shuttle Visit
Adds More Solar Power to the Space Station June 13, 2007 The
International Space Station (ISS) received an additional boost
in its solar power capacity on June 12th, as the latest space
shuttle mission, STS-117, added another set of solar panels.
Following its launch on Friday, June 8th, STS-117 rendezvoused
with the ISS on Sunday, June 10th. On Monday, June 11th, a truss
carrying the new solar panels was removed from the shuttle bay
and installed on the starboard side of the ISS. The shuttle crew
then made the electrical connections for the new solar panels
that afternoon and unfurled the two sets of solar panels on
Tuesday, June 12th. Astronaut Robert L. Curbeam Jr. works to
free a stuck solar panel during shuttle mission STS-116 in
December 2006. Starting on June 13th, the crew has the
unenviable task of retracting a solar array that was installed
on the ISS in 2000. Last year, STS-116