NASA has not yet successfully installed a new solar cell for the ISS

On the night of December 13, astronauts on the Space Shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station (ISS) were unsuccessful in winding up the entire 35-meter-long solar cell, which has been operating for 6 years on ISS, to Install new solar panels to help double the ISS's solar heat capacity.

(Photo: Laodong)

After a lot of hard hours, astronauts had a lot of difficulties in getting the battery back with the remote control system because the system was stuck. According to NASA, astronauts may have to go out of space for the fourth time to roll the old battery by hand, but this will not happen before the third air out on December 16.

The planned out-of-town program may cause Discovery to postpone its return date to Earth (originally scheduled for December 21).

Previously, commander of the ISS John Curry station warned of difficulties in manipulating the old solar panels that have been installed since 2000.

During the first walk into space (December 12) of this trip, the two astronauts successfully attached a scaffold weighing 2 tons outside the ISS.

On December 14, two astronauts Robert Curbeam and Sunita Wiliams and Swedish physicist Christer Fuglesang will install cameras outside the ISS station and reconnect the ISS grid.

Under the plan, NASA will carry out 13 additional shuttle flights to complete the ISS station in 2010.