Astronauts Deploy Final Solar Array to Complete Space Station Power Upgrade
NASA's Anil Menon and Canada's Joshua Kutryk installed the eighth roll-out array during a six-hour, 59-minute spacewalk, completing a power upgrade begun in 2021.
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk installed and deployed the eighth and final roll-out solar array outside the International Space Station on Thursday, completing the station's power augmentation upgrade.
The spacewalk ended at 3:35 p.m. EST after six hours and 59 minutes, NASA said. The astronauts installed the final International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array, known as an IROSA, on the station's 3B power channel.
The eight roll-out arrays together increase the station's power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts. Work to prepare for the upgrade began in February 2021, and astronauts have completed 18 spacewalks to prepare equipment and install the arrays.
Thursday's work followed the October 29 spacewalk, when Menon and Kutryk installed the seventh array on the 2A channel. This installation completes the eight-array upgrade rather than repeating that earlier work.
The outing was Menon's fifth spacewalk and Kutryk's second. It was the 286th spacewalk supporting assembly, maintenance and upgrades of the International Space Station, according to NASA.