The International Space Station just got a little more power. On Thursday, October 29, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk spent more than seven hours outside the orbiting lab installing a new roll-out solar array, the seventh of eight planned for the station.
Here is what happened and why it matters, based on NASA’s space station blog.
The spacewalk by the numbers
Menon and Kutryk left the station’s airlock at 7:57 a.m. EDT, according to NASA’s live updates, and wrapped up at 3:08 p.m. EDT, for a total of 7 hours and 11 minutes.
- It was U.S. spacewalk number 100.
- It was the 285th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades.
- It was Menon’s fourth spacewalk and Kutryk’s first.
Menon wore the suit with red stripes, and Kutryk wore the unmarked suit, the usual way NASA helps viewers tell spacewalkers apart. During the work, Menon rode the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to begin the installation on the port side of the station’s truss, about 260 miles above Earth.
What they installed
The pair installed and deployed an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array, known as an IROSA, on the station’s 2A electrical power channel.
Roll-out arrays work differently from the station’s original solar wings. Instead of unfolding like a giant accordion, they launch rolled up and unroll in space, which makes them compact for the trip to orbit. They are designed to add to the power produced by the station’s original solar wings.
NASA says the new array will provide additional power to support critical operations, including a safe and controlled deorbit of the station at the end of its life.
Why the station needs more power
Every experiment, life support system and computer on the space station runs on electricity from the Sun. Adding new panels gives the lab more power to work with.
According to NASA, once all eight roll-out arrays are in place, they will increase available power by up to 30%. That raises the station’s power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to about 215 kilowatts.
The power also matters for the station’s final chapter. The plan to bring the station down safely and under control at the end of its life requires reliable power for its systems until the very end, and NASA links the new arrays directly to that goal.
Getting ready for the finale
Menon and Kutryk also completed several “get-ahead” tasks to prepare for the next spacewalk, planned for Thursday, November 5. On that outing, they will install the eighth and final IROSA, this time on the station’s 3B power channel.
After that spacewalk, the roll-out arrays will be fully installed, completing the station’s power system upgrade. NASA plans live coverage starting at 6:45 a.m. Eastern on November 5 on its live coverage page, so space fans can watch the final installation as it happens.
A first for Kutryk
For Joshua Kutryk, Thursday was a milestone. Spacewalks are among the most demanding tasks in human spaceflight, needing hours of physical work in a pressurized suit, careful handling of tools and hardware, and close coordination with the crew inside and flight controllers on the ground. Doing it on a first spacewalk, while installing a large solar array, is no small task.
Menon, with three spacewalks behind him before this one, brought experience to the job, and the two will team up again next week for the final installation.
The bottom line
With seven of eight roll-out solar arrays now in place, the space station’s power upgrade is nearly done. One more spacewalk on November 5 should finish the job, boosting the orbiting lab’s power by up to 30% and helping keep it running safely through the rest of its mission.
Image: IROSA Install EVA 3 (iss065e145037) by NASA Johnson Space Center / Mark Vande Hei via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain Mark 1.0
