Space Station solar panels

International Space Station solar panels seen through the window by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet on his Alpha mission.

Two spacewalks are fast approaching for Thomas, and Shane who are preparing to exit the International Space Station and upgrade the Station’s power supply.

As EV1, Thomas will wear a spacesuit with red stripes. Shane, as EV2, will wear a spacesuit with no stripes.

The duo will be aided by NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Mark Vande Hei inside the Space Station who will help them in and out of their spacesuits, and operate the  17-m-long robotic arm that will move Thomas and Shane to their worksites.

During these spacewalks, Thomas and Shane will install the first two of six new solar arrays that will unfurl in space. The panels, dubbed ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs) arrived at the Station on the SpaceX CRS-22 supply mission, and were moved into position by robotic arm on 10 June.

The current solar arrays work well but are reaching the end of their 15-year lifespan.

The first pair of the Space Station’s original solar arrays have been in use since 2000 and have been powering the station for more than 20 years. The new solar arrays will not replace the current ones, but will be positioned in front of six of the current arrays, increasing the Station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to a maximum of 215 kilowatts.

The same solar array design will be used to power elements of the lunar Gateway – a new Space Station in cislunar orbit to be launched by International Space Station partners.