NASA astronauts return to ISS after installing new solar panel

WASHINGTON. Dec 23 (Interfax) - Two U.S. astronauts returned to the International Space Station (ISS) following an hours-long spacewalk on Thursday to install equipment on the station's surface, NASA said.

Astronauts Frank Rubio and Josh Cassada installed and deployed an ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) on the P4 power channel on the port truss, and the new panel has already begun supplying power. A pair of new panels was delivered to the ISS on November 27 by the SpaceX U.S. company's Cargo Dragon spacecraft. The U.S. astronauts installed the first one of them on the S4 segment of the station's truss during a spacewalk on December 3.

The astronauts' spacewalk from the Quest module began at 8:19 a.m. EST, or at 4:19 p.m. Moscow time, and continued for seven hours.

The first pair of IROSA panels was installed and deployed during three spacewalks performed by astronauts in June 2021. In all, three pairs of new panels should be installed on ISS as part of the ongoing upgrade of the station's power system.

The new panels will help to generate 30% more electricity to ensure the ISS' operation. Their installation will increase the energy system's capacity from 160 to 215 kilowatts.

According to NASA, the current eight ISS solar panels are functioning normally for now, but they are steadily reducing power output, because they have a service life of 15 years. The very first pair of panels was deployed on the ISS more than 20 years ago.

The current ISS crew consists of Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Anna Kikina, NASA astronauts Rubio, Cassada and Nicole Mann, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata.