iROSA – Spaceflight Now

Rubins and Noguchi assemble solar array support fixtures outside space station

March 5, 2021 William Harwood

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi, a Japanese astronaut who last walked in space more than 15 years ago, ventured outside the International Space Station Friday and completed assembly of two solar array support fixtures, part of a $100 million power system upgrade.

Astronauts complete spacewalk to prep for station power system upgrades

February 28, 2021 William Harwood

Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station Sunday for the first in a series of spacewalks to upgrade the lab’s aging solar power system, assembling a support fixture that eventually will hold a new solar blanket.

Boeing says assembly complete on first set of new space station solar arrays

January 13, 2021 Stephen Clark

Engineers from Boeing and a team of subcontractors have finished building the first pair of six new solar arrays to bolster the International Space Station’s aging electrical system ahead of their launch to the orbiting outpost as soon as May aboard SpaceX’s next Cargo Dragon mission.