Space mission aims to fold up solar array

DALLAS, Dec 13 (Reuters) Space shuttle astronauts visiting the International Space Station will attempt today to fold up one of the two 6-year-old solar arrays which have been the sole power providers to the US sections of the station, Next year, the second panel will be retracted and the entire power module will be relocated to boost the station's power supply.

The shuttle Discovery astronauts hope that by the time they leave the station, it will be drawing power from a new set of solar arrays that were delivered and installed during a shuttle mission in September.

The discovery crew floated aboard the space station on Monday at the start of a week-long stay.

Rewiring, which is needed to power new laboratories due to arrive next year, is scheduled to be done during spacewalks tomorrow and on Saturday.

Retracting the old array may be tricky. NASA originally planned to do the work in 2003, but station construction was halted due to the Columbia accident.

If the array fails to fold up automatically, NASA might dispatch Discovery's spacewalkers on an extra outing to manually retract the panel. It must be retracted at least 40 per cent to leave room for the new arrays to rotate as they track the sun for power.

The first spacewalk of the current mission ended successfully yesterday after more than six and a half hours with two astronauts managing to add a new piece to the metal backbone of the space station, clearing the way for the rewiring later this week.

The pair also replaced a faulty camera during their foray, among other tasks.

REUTERS LL DS1245