A new gyroscope will be delivered in May to the International Space Station by the Discovery Shuttle, Russia’s Novosti news agency reported Thursday.
The new equipment will restore electricity to control unit No. 2 of the U.S. power gyroscope, which had been installed by the previous ISS crew Gennady Padalka and Michael Fincke on July 1, 2004, the report said.
“After almost eight months of faultless operation, that unit suddenly disconnected the gyroscope. This instrument acts on a principle of automatic devices installed in apartment houses to prevent the damage of household electric appliances,” an expert explained.
Two gyroscopes are required to maintain the station’s orientation in space.
“One of them was broken long ago and the second one has just been disconnected. That is why two properly functioning gyroscopes at once were at the space sta! tion,” he said.
