Astronauts prep ISS for new solar panels

Spacewalking astronauts ventured out on

Sunday to install support frames for new, highefficiency solar panels arriving at the International Space Station later this year. Nasa’s Kate Rubins and Victor Glover put the mounting brackets and struts together, then bolted them into place next to the station’s oldest and most degraded solar wings. They had to lug out the hundreds of pounds of mounting brackets and struts in 2.5 metre duffle-style bags. The equipment was so big and awkward that it had to be taken apart like furniture, just to get through the hatch. With more people and experiments flying on the space station, more power will be needed to keep everything running, according to US space agency Nasa. The six new solar panels — to be delivered in pairs by Spacex over the coming year or so — should boost the station’s electrical capability by as much as 30%.