Spacesuit Issues During Spacewalk Prevent Installation of Solar Panels on ISS Written 21 June 2021
NASA Expedition 65 astronaut Shane Kimbrough during Friday's spacewalk to install new roll out solar arrays on the ISS's P-6 truss structure, 18 June 2021. | NASA
The AP reports that during a nearly seven-hour spacewalk Wednesday from the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough “encountered a pair of spacesuit issues,” which forced “him to temporarily retreat back into the airlock to reset his equipment.” Mission Control “stressed that Kimbrough was safe the entire time, despite problems with his suit’s display control panel and a fleeting pressure spike in the cooling system.” The issue “put Kimbrough and French astronaut Thomas Pesquet an hour behind, then they had trouble trying to unfold the solar panel’s booms before time finally ran out.” As a result of the delay, the astronauts were unable to complete the installation of a pair of new solar panels.
Full Story (Associated Press)