Final iROSA Solar Array Installed on ISS Lifting Station Power Output by Up to 30 Percent
What happened
Astronauts Anil Menon and Joshua Kutryk completed the installation of the eighth and final Roll-Out Solar Array during a 6-hour-59-minute spacewalk, concluding a multi-year power modernization for the International Space Station.
The Context
* A five-year overhaul: Initiated in 2021, the roll-out program addressed output loss on the station's legacy solar wings, which operated well past their initial 15-year design envelope. * Autonomous deployment: The 750-pound (340 kg) assembly unrolled over 10 minutes along carbon composite booms, reaching its full 63-foot (19-meter) length without mechanical motors. * Runway to 2030: The completed power architecture secures the electrical throughput needed to sustain microgravity research payloads until the platform's scheduled deorbit at the end of the decade.
The Number
— The net boost in total electricity production across the station, expanding onboard capacity from 160 kW to 215 kW while utilizing arrays half the size of the originals.
Takeaway
With maximum station power restored, global research teams and private operators can run power-intensive microgravity experiments without capacity constraints through the ISS's final operational phase.
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