NASA and industry team members observe a Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) wing for Gateway as it deploys inside Redwire’s high-bay facility in Goleta, California, during a test on June 30, 2025. The image shows the solar array partially extended as technicians monitor the process from the facility floor and elevated work platforms. Credit: Lanteris Space Systems

Testing Gateway’s Roll-Out Solar Array (jsc2025e069608)

A Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) wing for Gateway stands fully deployed inside Redwire’s high-bay facility in Goleta, California, following a successful deployment test on June 30, 2025. The image shows the extended solar array structure as NASA’s Gateway Program leadership and representatives from industry and international partners observe the test from the facility floor. Credit: NASA

Testing Gateway’s Roll-Out Solar Array (jsc2025e069609)

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a set of International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) have been secured onto a platform on March 23, 2023. They are being prepared for delivery to the space station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon cargo carrier on the company’s 28th commercial resupply services (CRS-28) mission to the space station. iROSA is a new type of solar panel that rolls open in space and is more compact than current rigid panel designs.

iROSA Lift Operation

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a set of International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) have been secured onto a platform on March 23, 2023. They are being prepared for delivery to the space station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon cargo carrier on the company’s 28th commercial resupply services (CRS-28) mission to the space station. iROSA is a new type of solar panel that rolls open in space and is more compact than current rigid panel designs.

iROSA Lift Operation

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a crane is used to lift and stack the third set of two International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) onto a platform on March 23, 2023. They are being prepared for delivery to the space station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon cargo carrier on the company’s 28th commercial resupply services (CRS-28) mission to the space station. iROSA is a new type of solar panel that rolls open in space and is more compact than current rigid panel designs.

iROSA Lift Operation

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane is used to lower a set of International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) onto a platform on March 23, 2023. They are being prepared for delivery to the space station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon cargo carrier on the company’s 28th commercial resupply services (CRS-28) mission to the space station. iROSA is a new type of solar panel that rolls open in space and is more compact than current rigid panel designs.

iROSA Lift Operation

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane is used to lift and stack the third set of two International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) onto a platform on March 23, 2023. They are being prepared for delivery to the space station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon cargo carrier on the company’s 28th commercial resupply services (CRS-28) mission to the space station. iROSA is a new type of solar panel that rolls open in space and is more compact than current rigid panel designs.

iROSA Lift Operation

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane is used to lower a set of International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) onto a platform on March 23, 2023. They are being prepared for delivery to the space station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon cargo carrier on the company’s 28th commercial resupply services (CRS-28) mission to the space station. iROSA is a new type of solar panel that rolls open in space and is more compact than current rigid panel designs.

iss052e002871 (6/18/2017) --- The Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) is a new type of solar panel that rolls open in space like a party favor and is more compact than current rigid panel designs. The ROSA investigation tests deployment and retraction, shape changes when the Earth blocks the sun, and other physical challenges to determine the array’s strength and durability. ROSA has the potential to replace solar arrays on future satellites, making them more compact and lighter weight. Satellite radio and television, weather forecasting, GPS and other services used on Earth would all benefit from high-performance solar arrays.

ROSA deploy

iss052e002857 (6/18/2017) --- The Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) is a new type of solar panel that rolls open in space like a party favor and is more compact than current rigid panel designs. The ROSA investigation tests deployment and retraction, shape changes when the Earth blocks the sun, and other physical challenges to determine the array’s strength and durability. ROSA has the potential to replace solar arrays on future satellites, making them more compact and lighter weight. Satellite radio and television, weather forecasting, GPS and other services used on Earth would all benefit from high-performance solar arrays.

ROSA deploy

iss052e004379 (6/18/2017) --- The Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) is a new type of solar panel that rolls open in space like a party favor and is more compact than current rigid panel designs. The ROSA investigation tests deployment and retraction, shape changes when the Earth blocks the sun, and other physical challenges to determine the array’s strength and durability. ROSA has the potential to replace solar arrays on future satellites, making them more compact and lighter weight. Satellite radio and television, weather forecasting, GPS and other services used on Earth would all benefit from high-performance solar arrays.

iss069e027347 (July 2, 2023) --- The International Space Station was orbiting 270 miles above the south Atlantic Ocean about 350 miles north of South Georgia Island when this photograph was taken. In the top foreground, portions of the station's main solar array and roll-out solar array are also pictured.

Earth Observations during Expedition 69

CEO during Expedition 69

ROSA Transfer (for SpaceX CRS-11)

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Roll-Out Solar Array, or ROSA, is being prepared for transfer out of the high bay. ROSA will be delivered to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo carrier on the company’s 11th commercial resupply services mission to the space station. ROSA is a new type of solar panel that rolls open in space and is more compact than current rigid panel designs. The ROSA investigation will test deployment and retraction, shape changes when the Earth blocks the sun, and other physical challenges to determine the array's strength and durability.

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ISS Solar Array Arrival at KSC

NASA and Boeing workers move solar arrays for the International Space Station to flight support equipment in the high bay of the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 2, 2021. The 63- by- 20-foot solar arrays will launch to the International Space Station later this year. They are the first two of six new solar arrays that in total will produce more than 120 kilowatts of electricity from the Sun’s energy, enough to power more than 40 average U.S. homes. Combined with the eight original, larger arrays, this advanced hardware will provide 215 kilowatts of energy, a 20 to 30 percent increase in power, helping maximize the space station’s capabilities for years to come. The arrays will produce electricity to sustain the station’s systems and equipment, plus augment the electricity available to continue a wide variety of public and private experiments and research in the microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit.

ISS Solar Array Arrival at KSC

NASA and Boeing workers lift solar arrays into flight support equipment on April 2, 2021, in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 63- by- 20-foot solar arrays will launch to the International Space Station later this year. They are the first two of six new solar arrays that in total will produce more than 120 kilowatts of electricity from the Sun’s energy, enough to power more than 40 average U.S. homes. Combined with the eight original, larger arrays, this advanced hardware will provide 215 kilowatts of energy, a 20 to 30 percent increase in power, helping maximize the space station’s capabilities for years to come. The arrays will produce electricity to sustain the station’s systems and equipment, plus augment the electricity available to continue a wide variety of public and private experiments and research in the microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit. Most of the station systems, including its batteries, scientific equipment racks, and communications equipment have been upgraded since humans began a continuous presence on the orbiting laboratory in November 2000. For more than two decades, astronauts have lived and worked on this unique orbiting lab, supporting scientific research that has led to numerous discoveries that benefit people on Earth and prepare for future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

ISS Solar Array Arrival at KSC

In view are the first two of six solar arrays shortly before NASA and Boeing workers began lifting them into flight support equipment the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 2, 2021. The 63- by- 20-foot solar arrays will launch to the International Space Station later this year. The six new solar arrays in total will produce more than 120 kilowatts of electricity from the Sun’s energy, enough to power more than 40 average U.S. homes. Combined with the eight original, larger arrays, this advanced hardware will provide 215 kilowatts of energy, a 20 to 30 percent increase in power, helping maximize the space station’s capabilities for years to come. The arrays will produce electricity to sustain the station’s systems and equipment, plus augment the electricity available to continue a wide variety of public and private experiments and research in the microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit.

ISS Solar Array Arrival at KSC

NASA and Boeing workers help position the solar arrays onto flight support equipment inside the high bay of the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 2, 2021. The 63- by- 20-foot solar arrays will launch to the International Space Station later this year. They are the first two of six new solar arrays that in total will produce more than 120 kilowatts of electricity from the Sun’s energy, enough to power more than 40 average U.S. homes. Combined with the eight original, larger arrays, this advanced hardware will provide 215 kilowatts of energy, a 20 to 30 percent increase in power, helping maximize the space station’s capabilities for years to come. The arrays will produce electricity to sustain the station’s systems and equipment, plus augment the electricity available to continue a wide variety of public and private experiments and research in the microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit.

Spacewalker Stephen Bowen during his eighth career spacewalk

iss069e005732 (April 28, 2023) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen is pictured in his Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or spacesuit, outside the International Space Station during his eighth career spacewalk. He and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi (out of frame) would spend seven hours and one minute in the vacuum of space routing cables and installing insulation readying the orbital outpost for its next set of roll-out solar arrays due to be installed after their delivery on the next SpaceX Dragon cargo mission.

Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi tries on his spacesuit ahead of a spacewalk

iss069e005102 (April 24, 2023) --- UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi is pictured trying on his Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or spacesuit, and testing it ahead of a spacewalk planned for Friday, April 28. Alneyadi, along with NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, will spend about six-and-a-half hours in the vacuum of space continuing to upgrade the International Space Station’s power generation system readying the orbiting lab for its next set of roll-out solar arrays.

Astronaut Stephen Bowen tries on his spacesuit ahead of a spacewalk

iss069e005093 (April 24, 2023) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen is pictured trying on his Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or spacesuit, and testing it ahead of a spacewalk planned for Friday, April 28. Bowen, along with UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, will spend about six-and-a-half hours in the vacuum of space continuing to upgrade the International Space Station’s power generation system readying the orbiting lab for its next set of roll-out solar arrays.

Spacewalkers Stephen Bowen and Sultan Alneyadi

iss069e005734 (April 28, 2023) --- NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi are pictured in their Extravehicular Mobility Units, or spacesuits, on the International Space Station's starboard truss structure during a spacewalk. The duo would spend seven hours and one minute in the vacuum of space routing cables and installing insulation readying the orbital outpost for its next set of roll-out solar arrays due to be installed after their delivery on the next SpaceX Dragon cargo mission.

City lights sparkle across the southern United States

A dim, yellow-green airglow crowns Earth’s horizon between northwestern Australia and Indonesia

iss073e0828980 (Sept. 14, 2025) --- A dim, yellow-green airglow crowns Earth’s horizon between northwestern Australia and Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands. In the foreground, a set of the orbital outpost’s main solar arrays, partially overlapped by a smaller set of roll-out solar arrays, stretches across the frame. The International Space Station was soaring 262 miles above the tranquil Indian Ocean at approximately 4:07 a.m. local time when this photograph was taken.

Moonlit, violet-hued view of the International Space Station’s main solar arrays

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iss068e026073 (Dec. 2, 2022) --- A pair of the International Space Station's solar arrays, a roll-out solar array, and a small satellite orbital deployer attached to the Japanese robotic arm seemingly criss-cross each other in this photograph as the orbiting lab soared 265 miles above the African nation of Namibia. At far right, is a portion of the Kibo laboratory module with its exposed facility that houses space station hardware and external research experiments.

The International Space Station orbits above the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal

iss073e0869068 (Oct. 10, 2025) --- A set of the International Space Station's main solar arrays, partially overlapped by a smaller set of roll-out solar arrays, stretches across the photograph as the International Space Station orbited 262 miles above the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal. At left, the Japanese robotic arm with the small satellite orbital deployer attached, extends from the Kibo laboratory module.

ROSA Transfer (for SpaceX CRS-11)

At the loading dock outside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician uses a Hyster forklift to load the Roll-Out Solar Array, or ROSA, into a truck. ROSA will be delivered to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo carrier on the company’s 11th commercial resupply services mission to the space station. ROSA is a new type of solar panel that rolls open in space and is more compact than current rigid panel designs. The ROSA investigation will test deployment and retraction, shape changes when the Earth blocks the sun, and other physical challenges to determine the array's strength and durability.

ROSA Transfer (for SpaceX CRS-11)

Outside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician uses a Hyster forklift to carry the Roll-Out Solar Array, or ROSA, to the loading dock. ROSA will be delivered to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo carrier on the company’s 11th commercial resupply services mission to the space station. ROSA is a new type of solar panel that rolls open in space and is more compact than current rigid panel designs. The ROSA investigation will test deployment and retraction, shape changes when the Earth blocks the sun, and other physical challenges to determine the array's strength and durability.

Spacewalker Sultan Alneyadi during his first career spacewalk

iss069e005729 (April 28, 2023) --- UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi is pictured in his Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or spacesuit, outside the International Space Station's Quest airlock during his first spacewalk. He and NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen (out of frame) would spend seven hours and one minute in the vacuum of space routing cables and installing insulation readying the orbital outpost for its next set of roll-out solar arrays due to be installed after their delivery on the next SpaceX Dragon cargo mission.

Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi prepares to begin his first career spacewalk

iss069e005717 (April 28, 2023) --- UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi is pictured in his Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or spacesuit, preparing to exit the International Space Station's Quest airlock and begin his first spacewalk. He and NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen (out of frame) would spend seven hours and one minute in the vacuum of space routing cables and installing insulation readying the orbital outpost for its next set of roll-out solar arrays due to be installed after their delivery on the next SpaceX Dragon cargo mission.