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Technical problems prevent astronauts from installing new solar panels on space station - CNN
Jun 16, 2021 1 min, 8 secs
During the nearly seven-hour spacewalk, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet were slated to install the first two out of six ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays, called iROSAs, which will upgrade six of the eight power channels on the space station.

But the astronauts encountered several issues.

The astronauts were then instructed to fold the array back up and "bolt it in place in a safe configuration," where it will remain for the time being, said Rob Navias, a NASA public affairs officer, during a webcast of the spacewalk.

While the current solar arrays on the space station are still functioning, they have been supplying power to the space station for more than 20 years and are showing some signs of wear after long-term exposure to the space environment.

The ISS mission managers and engineers will hold "discussions over the next day or so as to what the next course of action will be," Navias said.

The new iROSA arrays arrived at the space station on June 5 after launching on the 22nd SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply mission.

"The exposed portion of the old arrays will still be generating power in parallel with the new arrays, but those new Iris arrays have solar cells on them that are more efficient than our original cells," said Dana Weigel, deputy manager of the International Space Station Program.

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