Spacewalkers Install Roll-Out Solar Array for Power Generation
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station at 3:08 p.m. EDT.
During the 7-hour, 11-minute spacewalk, Menon and Kutryk installed and deployed an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) on the station’s 2A electrical power channel. The array is the seventh IROSA installed on the station and will provide additional power to support critical operations, including a safe and controlled deorbit.
Menon and Kutryk also completed several get-ahead tasks to prepare for a planned Thursday, Nov. 5 spacewalk, when they will install the eighth and final IROSA on the 3B power channel. NASA will provide live coverage beginning at 6:45 a.m. Learn how to watch:
Following the Nov. 5 spacewalk, the roll-out solar arrays will be fully installed, completing the space station’s power system augmentation. Together, the eight arrays will increase available power by up to 30%, boosting the station’s power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts.
U.S. spacewalk 100 was Menon’s fourth and Kutryk’s first. It also was the 285th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
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Mark A. Garcia
