Astronauts tackle more solar panel work in 3rd spacewalk

Astronauts are working to install another new solar panel outside the International Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Astronauts worked to install another new solar panel outside the International Space Station on Friday, making their third spacewalk in just over a week. NASA's Shane Kimbrough and France's Thomas Pesquet tackled the second in a series of powerful solar wings that should keep the space station running the rest of this decade, as space tourism ramps up with visitors beginning in the fall. It should have been a two-spacewalk job, but spacesuit and other problems hampered the astronauts’ work on June 16. As a result, the first solar wing wasn't unfurled to its full length of 63 feet (19 meters) until Sunday. NASA added a third spacewalk for Friday to attach and unfold the second wing. To avoid electrical shocks, Kimbrough and Pesquet had to conduct most of their work on the nighttime side of Earth. That way, the station's solar panels were not soaking up sunlight and generating power.