NASA successfully installs new iROSA Solar Array on Space Station

Washington, Dec 4: Astronauts of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have installed a new Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA) on the International Space Station (ISS), NASA reports.

“Astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio have successfully installed Roll-Out Solar Array on the starboard truss structure of the @Space_Station. They have also disconnected a cable allowing restoring a power channel to 75% of its operating capacity,” NASA said on Twitter on Saturday.

Cassada’s and Rubio’s spacewalk outside the ISS lasted around seven hours.

The new solar array units were delivered to the ISS on a Dragon spacecraft on November 27.

NASA is currently upgrading the solar panel power system on the ISS since the efficiency of the original solar arrays has dropped over the years. The cost of the upgrade is estimated at $103 million and the new system should be able to generate 215 kilowatts of electricity.