SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
*Station Recovers From Power Loss*
Mission control teams are working to assess systems affected by a power
loss aboard the International Space Station early Sunday morning. The
station's three crew members were not in any danger, but it did turn an
off-duty day into a full work shift.
About 1 a.m. EST, one of the power channels of the P4 solar array
electrical system went down because of a glitch with a device known as a
direct current switching unit. It controls power distribution from the
solar array to the battery systems and other hardware. The glitch
resulted in a temporary loss of communications, and shut down some
equipment, including a few science facilities and heating units and
control moment gyroscope #2. The station never lost orientation control,
but it operated most of the day with two of four gyros. Control moment
gyroscope #3 previously had been powered down.
Flight controllers restored power to nearly all affected systems and
equipment by Monday morning. They are still investigating what caused
the glitch, but they believe it was an isolated event.
