Saturday, Apr 20, 2024
Focus on the big picture

Live: NASA astronauts conduct spacewalk to prepare for upcoming solar array upgrades

CGTN, 28 Feb 2021
Two NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Victor Glover perform a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) on February 28. They will step out of the space station to begin assembling and installing modification kits required for upcoming solar array upgrades. The current solar arrays are functioning well, but have begun to show signs of degradation, as expected, as they were designed for 15-year service life. The first pair of solar arrays were deployed in December 2000 and have been powering the station for more than 20 years. Later this year, the new solar arrays will be positioned in front of six of the current arrays, increasing the station's total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts. #NASA
Related Articles