Article: Lockheed Martin tests space station solar arrays. (Solar Array E-Wing for the International Space Station)

Lockheed Martin has begun testing the Solar Array E-Wing it's building for the International Space Station this month, company officials said.

The solar arrays will be the Space Station's primary power source, generating a maximum system output of 246 kilowatts. The Space Station is designed to contain eight flexible, deployable and retractable solar wings.

During testing, the giant E-wing "blanket" will be extended and retracted 84 times with the mechanical structures and solar cells being checked after each extension.

"This unit that we're testing right now is the very last step before we produce the first flight unit," Lockheed Martin spokeswoman ...

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