The crew of the orbiting Mir space station restored computer control to two solar panels Thursday to keep them pointed toward the sun, successfully completing a repair mission to boost power to the damaged craft.
“Nice job, guys. Well done,” a ground controller in Russia told the cosmonauts. Eight of the space station’s 10 solar panels now are operating at full power, while a ninth is functioning partially.
The crew had been working to restore power since a cargo ship pierced the Spektr module during a practice docking in June, rendering that module’s four solar panels useless and knocking out half of Mir’s power.
Three of those panels were reconnected to Mir’s power system in August, but they had been without the computer control needed to keep them aligned with the sun to gain maximum solar energy.
