Space Station Power: 215 Kilowatts Now Online

The International Space Station now generates 215 kilowatts of electricity, an increase of 55 kilowatts over the previous capacity. This boost marks the end of a five-year project to replace aging solar wings.

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk completed the work on Thursday. They installed the eighth and final roll-out solar array during a spacewalk that began at 8:36 a.m. Eastern Time. The pair spent nearly seven hours outside the station to finish the job.

The final panel arrived at the station on a cargo ship stowed in an unpressurized trunk. The station's robotic arm placed the folded array on the left side of the power truss. Because the arm could not reach the far right end of the truss, Menon and Kutryk had to manually pass the heavy equipment to each other. They used a leapfrog method to move the hardware to the outboard support frame.

After positioning the array, the astronauts unfolded it and secured it with bolts. They connected power and data cables during the orbital night when the station is in Earth's shadow. This timing ensures safe handling of live electrical connections. The new panels extend to a full length of 63 feet.

Flight controllers detected a fault in one of the remaining rolled-up blankets after the station re-entered sunlight. The panel was not generating the expected small amount of electricity. Menon and Kutryk waited for the next night pass to inspect the connections and resolve the issue. Once fixed, the arrays were extended to their full length.

Before the upgrade, the original arrays produced about 160 kilowatts of power. The new hardware is half the size of the old panels but delivers 40% more power. Menon noted that the upgrade supports research and the station's operations through its planned retirement in 2030. The spacewalk ended at 3:35 p.m. Eastern Time.