On 9 June, astronauts Steve Bowen and Warren Hoburg of Expedition 69 installed the fifth iROSA on the 1A power channel and mast can on the S4 truss segment. The third pair of panels were launched on 5 June 2023. Astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio of Expedition 68 installed each one on the 3A power channel and mast can on the S4 segment, and the 4A power channel and mast can on the P4 truss segments, on 3 and 22 December 2022, respectively. The next pair of panels were launched on 26 November 2022. The 25 June spacewalk saw the astronauts successfully install and deploy the second iROSA on the 4B mast can opposite the first iROSA. The 20 June spacewalk saw the first iROSA's successful deployment and connection to the station's power system. ISS new roll out solar array as seen from a zoom camera on the P6 Truss After the first pair of arrays were delivered in early June, a spacewalk on 16 June by Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet of Expedition 65 to place one iROSA on the 2B power channel and mast can of the P6 truss ended early due to technical difficulties with the array's deployment. Work to install iROSA's support brackets on the truss mast cans holding the Solar Array Wings was initiated by the crew members of Expedition 64 in late February 2021. These arrays were deployed along the central part of the wings up to two thirds of its length. To augment the oldest wings, NASA launched three pairs of large-scale versions of the ISS Roll Out Solar Array (IROSA) aboard three SpaceX Dragon 2 cargo launches from early June 2021 to early June 2023, SpaceX CRS-22, CRS-26 and CRS-28. STS-119 (ISS assembly flight 15A) delivered the S6 truss along with the fourth set of solar arrays and batteries to the station during March 2009. STS-117 delivered the S4 truss and solar arrays in 2007. This is especially noticeable with the first arrays to launch, with the P6 and P4 Trusses in 2000 ( STS-97) and 2006 ( STS-115). Over time, the photovoltaic cells on the wings have degraded gradually, having been designed for a 15-year service life. Several different tracking modes are used in operations, ranging from full Sun-tracking, to the drag-reduction mode ( night glider and Sun slicer modes), to a drag-maximization mode used to lower the altitude. The solar arrays normally track the Sun, with the "alpha gimbal" used as the primary rotation to follow the Sun as the space station moves around the Earth, and the "beta gimbal" used to adjust for the angle of the space station's orbit to the ecliptic. Īltogether, the eight solar array wings can generate about 240 kilowatts in direct sunlight, or about 84 to 120 kilowatts average power (cycling between sunlight and shade). When retracted, each wing folds into a solar array blanket box just 51 centimetres (20 in) high and 4.57 metres (15.0 ft) in length. Each SAW is capable of generating nearly 31 Kilowatts (kW) of direct current power. When fully extended, each is 35 metres (115 ft) in length and 12 metres (39 ft) wide. Each wing is the largest ever deployed in space, weighing over 2,400 pounds and using nearly 33,000 solar arrays, each measuring 8-cm square with 4,100 diodes. See also: Integrated Truss Structure § Truss subsystems, and Roll Out Solar ArrayĮach ISS solar array wing (often abbreviated "SAW") consists of two retractable "blankets" of solar cells with a mast between them.
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