Astronauts begin final ISS solar array spacewalk

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk began a spacewalk on November 5 to install the International Space Station’s eighth and final rollout solar array, the last step in a power-system upgrade. The operation was scheduled to last about seven hours and was broadcast live by NASA. The astronauts were to attach the array to the station’s exterior and connect it to the 3B power channel. NASA’s projected benefit for the completed eight-array system is an increase in available electrical power from 160 kilowatts to about 215 kilowatts, or roughly 30%. That estimate is based on NASA’s stated capacity figures. The evidence confirms that Menon and Kutryk began the installation mission, but does not establish that the final array was fully installed and activated. One report said they completed and activated it; the other accounts described the work as underway or planned. The completed status therefore remains unconfirmed by the reporting. The array is part of the International Space Station RollOut Solar Array program, known as IROSA, which has been augmenting the station’s electrical supply since 2021. The final installation was intended to complete that...