Ever wonder what makes the International Space Station tick?  You guessed it, solar energy!  The overall size of the Station covers an area the size of an American Football field and weighs in at almost 1 million pounds (that’s around 450,000 kilograms for our overseas friends)!  With all its solar panels covering about an acre of area (over 43,000 square feet, or 4,000 square metres), the Station produces between 75 to 90 kilowatts of power. That is enough to power an average US home for about 10 days.  Not bad for energy that is free and produces no waste.

The technology that supplies energy to this marvel of science is the same technology that powers things we use every day here on planet Earth.  We’re talking about solar panels; you’ve seen them on everything from rooftops to calculators to gardens and landscapes.  This free energy is used to power your backyards at night with solar accent lights and even keep vermin away with solar pest control devices.  Albeit, these are on a much smaller scale, but it gets the job done.  And remember, the energy is free and these things can move around at your will just as the Station moves through the night sky.