Astronauts Are Go For Thursday’s Power Upgrade Spacewalk

NASA astronauts Anil Menon of NASA and Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency have received clearance for Thursday's spacewalk to install a new roll-out solar array on the International Space Station's port-side truss structure. The duo will operate their spacesuits in battery power mode at 8 a.m. EDT, signaling the beginning of their six-hour and 45-minute external maintenance mission.

Live coverage of the spacewalk will commence at 6:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday. Menon and Kutryk will first detach the roll-out solar array from a temporary stowage platform, before carrying it to the truss worksite via the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Kutryk will join Menon at the port truss worksite, tethered to the orbital outpost, to complete the installation.

Mission controllers will remotely activate the roll-out solar array post-installation to start generating power. The two astronauts completed their pre-flight preparations on Wednesday, including final reviews of the spacewalk procedure, spacesuit system checks, and communications gear inspections. Later, they participated in a spacewalk conference with NASA flight engineers Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney to discuss lighting conditions and camera locations for monitoring and operating the Canadarm2.

All four astronauts also engaged in a final discussion with robotics engineers about planned Canadarm2 operations during the spacewalk. Meanwhile, Roscosmos' three cosmonauts maintained a light duty schedule on Wednesday, focusing on science activities and familiarizing themselves with Thursday's spacewalk operations. Station commander Pyotr Dubrov removed Earth photography gear that autonomously captured landmarks in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans during the crew's sleep shift.

Flight engineer Sergey Teteryatnikov installed new Earth imagery gear for another overnight session to photograph Pacific islands and South American glaciers. Cosmonaut Anna Kikina also exercised on the Zvezda service module's treadmill to test her physical fitness in microgravity. Additional information about station activities can be found on the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and Instagram accounts. NASA updates are delivered weekly.