ISS Spacewalkers Unfurl 8th Solar Array, Completing 5-Year Upgrade for 30% More Power
Updated
Updated · Spaceflight Now · Nov 5
ISS Spacewalkers Unfurl 8th Solar Array, Completing 5-Year Upgrade for 30% More Power
3 articles · Updated · Spaceflight Now · Nov 5
Summary
A 6-hour, 59-minute spacewalk ended with Joshua Kutryk and Anil Menon deploying the ISS’s eighth and final roll-out solar array, finishing a five-year power upgrade.
About 4.5 hours into the outing, controllers saw the new array producing only about half the expected current, forcing a delay until orbital night so Kutryk could reseat a connector.
Good current readings after the recheck cleared the 63-foot array to unfurl at 2005 UTC; the far-starboard installation had required a robot-arm handoff and manual final approach beyond Canadarm2’s reach.
NASA says the eight IROSAs will lift available station power by up to 30%, helping keep the aging outpost operating through its planned 2030 retirement and controlled deorbit.
After 18 grueling spacewalks to install the solar arrays, what groundbreaking research can the aging space station now support with its upgraded power?
With the ISS nearing its end of life, how will a 30 percent power boost change its final scientific missions and eventual deorbit?
Could the massive resources spent upgrading the aging station's power grid have been better utilized accelerating next-generation commercial space stations?