Final Roll-Out Solar Array Deployed on Space Station: Power Capacity Rises to About 215 Kilowatts
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk completed a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on November 5, concluding at 3:35 p.m. EST after six hours and 59 minutes. During the walk they installed and deployed the eighth and final International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) on the station's 3B channel, completing the station's power augmentation upgrades.
Work to augment the station's power generation began in February 2021, and astronauts have since completed 18 spacewalks to prepare power channel equipment and install the eight arrays. Together, the roll-out arrays increase the station's power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts, supporting critical station operations including its safe and controlled deorbit at the end of its life.
U.S. spacewalk 101 was Menon's fifth and Kutryk's second, and it was the 286th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades. (Source: NASA)
Source: NASA
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图片来源：宇航员在国际空间站外安装太阳能电池阵（NASA/Thomas Pesquet 摄，Wikimedia Commons，Public domain） / Image: An astronaut installing a solar array outside the International Space Station, by NASA/Thomas Pesquet, Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
