Space station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Dan Tani completed the 100th spacewalk in support of station assembly and maintenance. The 6 hour and 56 minute spacewalk ended at 11:46 AM EST yesterday.
The spacewalkers inspected the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) and the Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA). They also removed a trundle bearing assembly, which moves along the race ring in the SARJ, and brought it inside the station for further examination.
Using observations from Whitson and Tani, specialists on the ground will evaluate the problems affecting the SARJ and BGA and determine how to return them to operational mode. Both hardware elements move the solar arrays to track the sun but are temporarily locked in place while they still draw power.
The International Space Station continues to operate normally.
Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani have now completed five spacewalks each. Whitson, however, has surpassed previous station Flight Engineer Suni Williams’ record for cumulative spacewalking time by a woman. Whitson’s total time working outside the International Space Station is 32 hours and 36 minutes.
Preparations move forward as the Expedition 16 crew awaits a Progress cargo ship on Dec. 26 and space shuttle Atlantis in January.
Image Credit: NASA TV
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