Astronauts deploy solar array on 100th US spacewalk by International Space Station crew members
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency deployed a new solar array on Thursday (Oct. 29) during a seven-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station.
Two astronauts, Anil Menon of NASA and Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency, successfully installed and deployed the second-to-last upgraded solar array on the International Space Station (ISS) during their 100th U.S. spacewalk. The 7-hour-and-11-minute extravehicular activity (EVA) concluded at 3:08 p.m. EDT on Thursday, October 29.
The spacewalk, the first for Canadian astronaut Kutryk since April 2019, took place outside the U.S. Quest airlock. Menon and Kutryk removed the rolled-up solar array from a temporary stowage platform, secured it to the Canadarm2 robotic arm, and installed it at the station's port side. The array was then deployed, extending to a length of 63 feet (19 meters) without the need for a motor.
The deployment of the IROSA, which was delivered to the space station inside the unpressurized trunk of SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule, was completed four hours and 23 minutes into the spacewalk. The additional power generated by the IROSA will support ongoing and planned station operations, including its safe and controlled deorbit, scheduled for 2030.
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