Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk begins 2nd spacewalk

Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk commenced his second spacewalk outside the International Space Station today. Prior to the mission, he and NASA astronaut Anil Menon underwent extensive preparations with their support team. Kutryk, the fifth Canadian to perform this task, donned his space suit, which featured a distinct red stripe on the legs, enabling him to differentiate himself from Menon.

On October 29th, Kutryk and Menon successfully installed seven of the eight new solar arrays required to enhance the station's power capacity. Today, they are set to complete the installation of the final solar array on the starboard side of the truss, which serves as the station's structural backbone.

The Canadian Space Agency emphasizes that spacewalks are among the most challenging and perilous tasks for astronauts, yet they are indispensable for repairing or installing equipment and executing manual work. The last Canadian astronaut to conduct a spacewalk was David Saint-Jacques in 2019.

Kutryk, along with his SpaceX Crew-13 crew members, embarked on their mission to the International Space Station on October 1st, with an anticipated duration of six months.