ISS Solar Array Spacewalk: Final Power Upgrade Live

An ISS solar array spacewalk is underway today as two astronauts work to install the eighth and final roll-out solar array on the International Space Station. According to NASA, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and NASA astronaut Anil Menon began the outing at eight thirty-six in the morning Eastern time, outside the station airlock.

If you have ever watched your phone battery sink and wished for a bigger one, this is the station-sized version of that wish. The mission is the last step in a power upgrade that has been running for years, and it caps a very busy week for the two spacewalkers.

What is happening outside the station

The job is to install and deploy the final roll-out solar array, known as an IROSA, on the station's three B power channel. NASA says this completes the power augmentation upgrades. It is the station's one hundred and first U.S. spacewalk, and NASA is streaming it live for anyone who wants to watch.

According to Space.com, the outing was scheduled to last roughly seven hours. It is the second spacewalk of the week for Menon and Kutryk, who installed the seventh array on October twenty-ninth.

How the handoff works

NASA's mission preview explains the choreography. Kutryk travels to the starboard truss, the long beam that carries the solar arrays. Menon rides the Canadarm2 robotic arm while carrying the new array, then hands it to Kutryk before detaching himself from the arm.

The pair mostly repeat the tasks from their first spacewalk, but on the opposite side of the truss. Think of it as the same moves, mirrored. Because the first outing was a success, the crew goes in with a tested routine.

Why this upgrade matters

A roll-out solar array is a flexible panel that unrolls like a carpet once it is fixed in place. Each one is mounted in front of an older rigid array that has been working since the early two thousands. The new wings add output without replacing the old ones.

According to pv magazine USA, the arrays are made by Redwire Space and delivered on SpaceX cargo missions. With all eight in place, the station's power generation rises by up to thirty per cent, from about one hundred sixty kilowatts to roughly two hundred fifteen.

That extra power matters for research, life support and every experiment racing around the planet. It also keeps the aging outpost productive for the rest of its working life.

A Canadian moment

This one has a strong Canadian angle. The Canadian Space Agency says Canada plays a key role again: astronaut Jenni Gibbons serves as capcom, Canadarm2 moves the array, and teams in Longueuil, Quebec support operations alongside NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Kutryk's first spacewalk on October twenty-ninth lasted seven hours and eleven minutes. That outing was the first for a Canadian astronaut since twenty nineteen, and it was also the hundredth U.S. spacewalk from the station.

The bigger picture for the station

The orbiting lab has been continuously crewed for more than two decades, and its original power system was never designed to feed the amount of research now packed inside. Adding the new arrays gives engineers more headroom for experiments, cargo operations and the systems that keep astronauts comfortable and safe.

ScienceDaily noted after the first outing that the upgrade also supports critical operations through to the station's eventual controlled deorbit. In other words, the extra power is meant to carry the outpost all the way through the rest of its working life.

For a generation raised on streaming launches and space selfies, this is a reminder that spaceflight is also about maintenance. Menon even joked after the first outing that it is always sunny in space, which is exactly the point of installing more panels.

What to watch next

Keep an eye on NASA's updates for confirmation that the array is deployed and working. Spacewalks can shift in length, so the official wrap-up is the thing to trust. For more stories from beyond Earth, browse the science section or the wider Canada coverage.

The bigger story is that a project begun in June twenty twenty-one is reaching the finish line. The ISS solar array spacewalk may not look dramatic on a livestream, but it is the quiet engineering that keeps the lights on in orbit.