Space Station set to accordion last of solar wings

William Atkins
Friday, 20 March 2009 20:20

Science - Space

These S6 solar panels were used for testing here on Earth and have been folded up for about eight years now.

But, NASA is confident that their procedure will successfully extend the panels, after they learned from mistakes when the last pair of solar panels were unfurled in 2007.

When this set of solar panels are fully extended they, along with the other already installed solar panels, will allow the power system onboard the Space Station to generate enough electricity to accommodate an expanded crew of six, up by three members.

The solar panels, called the Starboard 6 (S6) solar array truss segment, are the fourth set of solar panels used to generate power on the Space Station. When completely unfurled they will extend about 240 feet.

The four panels will produce a total of about 30 kilowatts of energy for the crewmembers onboard the Space Station.

With about eleven years taken to complete the International Space Station, the  completion of the huge project is nearly here—it has to be because the Space Transportation System (STS), which includes the space shuttle fleet, is about to be retired in 2010.

This STS-119 mission is the last American piece of major hardware to be taken up to the Space Station, as NASA targets the completion of the Station by 2010, or at the very latest by 2011.

The space shuttles are the only spacecraft, past or future, that are big enough (so far) to carry up some of the very large pieces (like the trusses) used on the Space Station.

To watch the process of the S6 solar panels being unfurled out there in space, please watch it on your local NASA Television station, or on the Internet at NASA TV.