NASA and Boeing workers lift solar arrays into flight support equipment on April 2, 2021, in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 63- by- 20-foot solar arrays will launch to the International Space Station later this year.
They are the first two of six new solar arrays that in total will produce more than 120 kilowatts of electricity from the Sun’s energy, enough to power more than 40 average U.S. homes. Combined with the eight original, larger arrays, this advanced hardware will provide 215 kilowatts of energy, a 20 to 30 percent increase in power, helping maximize the space station’s capabilities for years to come. The arrays will produce electricity to sustain the station’s systems and equipment, plus augment the electricity available to continue a wide variety of public and private experiments and research in the microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit.
Most of the station systems, including its batteries, scientific equipment racks, and communications equipment have been upgraded since humans began a continuous presence on the orbiting laboratory in November 2000. For more than two decades, astronauts have lived and worked on this unique orbiting lab, supporting scientific research that has led to numerous discoveries that benefit people on Earth and prepare for future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. Photo Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux