Astronauts install a working solar array on the space station

NASA’s Anil Menon and CSA’s Joshua Kutryk attached a roll-out solar array to the station’s port-side truss, released its tension bolts and allowed it to unfurl over ten minutes; it is now generating power. Their next spacewalk, scheduled for November 5, will install the eighth and final array in an upgrade intended to raise generating capacity from 160 to about 215 kilowatts. [5] Why it matters: The completed upgrade would add about 55 kilowatts, roughly 34% above the stated 160-kilowatt capacity, to an orbital laboratory conducting plant, exercise and materials research. [5] Key insights: The array deployed by rolling out after the astronauts released its tension bolts, rather than requiring them to unfold it manually throughout the process. [5] | The November 5 installation is intended to finish an upgrade sequence that began in June 2021. [5] | Research continuing aboard the station includes microgravity effects on plant-cell division and experiments aimed at improving crop disease resistance. [5] Cheatsheet facts: What happened: Menon and Kutryk installed a port-side roll-out solar array that is now producing electricity. [5] | Why: The array program augments the station’s power-generation system. [5] | The catch: The full increase from 160 to about 215 kilowatts depends on completing the upgrade, not just this installation. [5] | What's next: The astronauts are scheduled to install the eighth and final array on the starboard truss on November 5. [5]