SpaceX launches final solar arrays for ISS power upgrade

(SpaceEnergy) SpaceX launched the final pair of roll-out solar arrays for the International Space Station on 13 October, advancing a power-system upgrade intended to support operations through the station's planned retirement.

The arrays were carried aboard a Dragon cargo spacecraft launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6:33am Eastern Daylight Time (10:33 GMT).

NASA confirmed the successful launch and separation of Dragon from the rocket's second stage approximately nine minutes after liftoff.

The spacecraft is carrying more than 2,850kg of supplies, scientific experiments and equipment under SpaceX's 35th commercial resupply mission for NASA.

The final pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) will complete the augmentation of the station's electrical power system once installed.

NASA said the upgraded system will support critical operations, including the station's eventual safe and controlled deorbit.

The arrays supplement the station's original solar power infrastructure, which has experienced performance degradation during more than two decades of orbital operations.

Dragon is scheduled to dock autonomously with the space-facing port of the station's Harmony module at approximately 11am Eastern Daylight Time on 15 October.

NASA has not yet confirmed the successful delivery or installation of the new arrays.

The mission also carries equipment for microgravity research involving artificial retinas, three-dimensional heart tissue models, unconventional glass manufacturing and neurological disease investigations.

Dragon is expected to remain docked until mid-November before returning scientific samples and equipment to Earth.