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NASA installs final roll-out solar array on International Space Station in spacewalk

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NASA installs final roll-out solar array on International Space Station in spacewalk

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk are completing U.S. Spacewalk 101 to install and deploy the eighth and final International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA). The extravehicular activity follows the successful installation of the seventh array on Oct. 29. 

The installation concludes a five-year augmentation program designed to upgrade the station’s legacy power system.

Manufactured by Redwire Space utilizing the Sunstone configuration featuring a 19.4-meter deployed length, a stowed power density of roughly 40 kW per cubic meter, and a 331 kg mass per wing, the compact, flexible solar wings are delivered via SpaceX cargo resupply missions and mounted directly in front of the station’s original panels, which have been operating since December 2000.  

The flexible photovoltaic blanket assembly relies on strain-energy composite booms rather than motors or complex mechanical hinges, providing high deployed stiffness to withstand launch vibrations and orbital loads.

With all eight iROSA units installed, the project delivers an overall power generation boost of up to 30%, expanding total capacity from 160 kW to roughly 215 kW. The additional electrical capacity is designed to support ongoing microgravity research, accommodate commercial payloads, and meet the high operational power demands required through the facility’s planned safe and controlled deorbit phase. 



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