NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk completed a seven-hour spacewalk on Thursday to install the eighth and final roll-out solar array on the International Space Station, wrapping up a five-year power upgrade project, according to Xinhua.
215 Kilowatts of Power: Station’s Final Upgrade Complete
The spacewalk began at 8:36 a.m. The spacewalk began at 8:36 a.m. Eastern Time and ended at 3:36 p.m., with Menon and Kutryk installing the new solar panel on the station’s 3B power channel. The array deployment was part of a series of solar installations that began in February 2021. The eight new arrays, known as iROSA, will increase the station’s total power generation from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts, a 30 percent boost, EFE reported. The spacewalk was planned to begin around 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time with a duration of six hours and 45 minutes, but it ran longer than scheduled, concluding at 3:08 p.m. (19:08 GMT), nearly half an hour more than planned, according to the space station blog. The installation of the final panel completed a series of upgrades to increase the station’s power generation capacity.
“The additional electricity will support critical operations until the end of the station’s planned operational life in 2030 and its subsequent controlled deorbit,” EFE noted, citing NASA’s assessment of the upgrade’s importance for maintaining the station’s systems during its final years. As the International Space Station continues to orbit the Earth approximately every 90 minutes, its crew works on an improvement that will allow its laboratories and essential systems to remain powered on for the years of service remaining.
LIVE: NASA's Anil Menon and @csa_asc's Joshua Kutryk are setting up a new solar array outside the @Space_Station. Today's spacewalk is scheduled to start around 8am ET (1200 UTC) and run for about six and a half hours. https://t.co/xoJPYWty9Z
Canadarm2: Precision Engineering in the Void
During the spacewalk, Menon operated from the end of the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2, to maneuver the solar array to its installation point. Kutryk then secured the panel to the station’s exterior structure, EFE said. The pair had performed similar work during a spacewalk on October 29, but on the opposite side of the station. Menon, a NASA astronaut, worked while on the Canadarm2 to carry the panel from a storage platform to its installation point, while Kutryk, of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), moved to complete the assembly.
Inside the station, NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney assisted with the Canadarm2 operations and helped Menon and Kutryk prepare for and conclude their spacewalk. This marked the fifth career spacewalk for Menon and the second for Kutryk, who arrived at the station on October 1 with the Crew-13 mission.
A Five-Year, 286-Extravehicular Endeavor
The installation was the 286th spacewalk dedicated to the assembly, maintenance, and upgrading of the International Space Station, NASA confirmed. The spacewalks for the iROSA project began in 2021 and spanned 18 extravehicular activities, the agency said. Since the beginning of 2021, astronauts have conducted 18 spacewalks to prepare the station’s power channels and install the roll-out solar panels, NASA added.
