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Astronauts execute 4th spacewalk, fix ISS panel

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Press Trust of India Houston
Finally after their fourth unscheduled spacewalk, Discovery astronauts have successfully retracted a stubborn solar panel on the International Space Station.

The solar wing is completely folded into its storage boxes, though one of the guide wires that run the length of the wing appears not to have reeled in all the way.

Applause rang out 0524 IST when the two ends of the array's boxes met for the first time since it was deployed in 2000.

It took the veteran spacewalker Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang more than three hours to fully retract the panel, freeing jammed guide wires and grommets to slowly fold the panel away before it is moved to another section of the station next year.

Astronauts extended Saturday's space walk by more than an hour in an effort to avoid venturing outside again, making significant process before light faded.

With NASA extending Discovery's mission for today's space walk, the shuttle is now forced to use one of two days of emergency fuel set a side to allow for landing delays due to bad weather.

Bad weather delayed Discovery's launch for two days last week, and the shuttle will now only have 24 hours of reserves for its fuel cells should weather delay its return to Earth.

 

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First Published: Dec 19 2006 | 11:30 AM IST

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