NASA rolls out final pair of roll-out solar arrays, boosting ISS power by about 28 kW each

NASA has deployed the final pair of roll-out solar arrays to the International Space Station, completing an upgrade intended to raise the station's available electrical generation.

The arrays arrived in the trunk of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company's 35th commercial resupply services mission and were unfurled and installed as NASA described in its feature on the upgrade.

According to NASA's account, the roll-out arrays are a lightweight, compact design that launch as a cylinder and then unfurl like a yoga mat once aboard the station; the technology was tested during a 2017 demonstration on the orbiting laboratory.

NASA says each of the smaller roll-out arrays can produce about 28 kilowatts of additional power; the agency reports that six such International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays were installed between 2021 and 2023, and that together eight IROSAs will increase station power by more than 160 kilowatts for research and operations.

SpaceX confirmed in reporting about the CRS-35 mission that the Falcon 9 launched the Dragon spacecraft carrying the upgraded arrays and other cargo, and that the shipment included more than 6,300 pounds of supplies and experiments bound for the station.

NASA's account notes that the first two IROSAs were delivered inside a Dragon trunk during the company's 22nd commercial resupply services mission in 2021, and that IROSA installation has combined astronaut spacewalks with use of the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

The sources differ in emphasis: NASA's feature focuses on the technical design, power yields and the sequence of prior deliveries and installations, while reporting tied to the launch highlights the total cargo mass delivered on the CRS-35 mission.

What is confirmed by the available reporting is the engineering outcome—additional generation capacity on the ISS from roll-out arrays validated in earlier demonstrations—and the logistics chain that delivered the final pair via SpaceX's resupply flight; details such as the precise installation timeline aboard the station and operational commissioning steps beyond rollout are described by NASA but not independently verified in the launch-focused coverage.

The array deployments extend a multiyear effort to augment the station's solar generation with compact, higher-efficiency panels delivered and installed in phases since 2021.