Astronauts are about to add a pair of 115-foot-long solar wings to the International Space Station. The station's solar arrays are the largest deployable space assemblies ever built and the most powerful electricity producing arrays in orbit. Each wing weighs 2,400 pounds, uses 32,800 individual solar cells, and adds about 4000 sq. feet of light-collecting surface area to the ISS. When the work is done, the space station will have enough usable electricity to light up 42 houses.
Amateur astronomers can see it happen with their own eyes.
The International Space Station is so large, its outlines are visible in backyard telescopes. Here, for instance, is the view through a 10-inch Newtonian reflector:
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