MOSCOW, December 18 (RIA Novosti) - International Space Station commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Dan Tani started on Tuesday a historic 100th spacewalk to inspect joints that move the station's solar arrays, NASA said.
During the 6.5-hour spacewalk, the astronauts will inspect two defective mechanisms which "move the solar arrays to track the sun but are temporarily locked in place while they still draw power," NASA said on its website.
Russian TV channel NTV reported that Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko is coordinating the work of the astronauts from Mission Control.
On December 8, a sudden electrical power outage shut down three circuit breaker trips on the ISS. No signs of damage to the solar power system have yet been found.
Tuesday's inspection will help to decide whether the hardware can be cleaned by the astronauts, or whether it will require complex repairs over multiple spacewalks.
