The STS-119 mission will deliver the final set of solar arrays needed to complete the Space Station’s complement of electricity generating solar panels. The next Space Shuttle Launch at Cape Canaveral in Central Florida is scheduled for Feb 12.
“More crew means that we’ll have to run more life support equipment, more crew support equipment – toilet facilities, water processing equipment and all of that stuff,” said Kwatsi Alibaruho, the lead space station flight director for the mission. “We’ll have to run more of all of that, so we need additional power.”
The set of solar arrays that the STS-119 crew will be bringing up includes two solar array wings, each of which has two 115-foot-long arrays, for a total wing span of 240 feet, including the equipment that connects the two halves and allows them to twist as they track the sun. The four sets of arrays together can generate 84 to 120 kilowatts of electricity – enough to provide power for more than 40 average homes. The three existing arrays can handle the majority of the station’s day-to-day operational and life support needs, the newest solar array will double the amount of power available for scientific research.
