Spacewalkers begin final phase of a space station upgrade
Summary
NASA astronauts Anil Menon and Joshua Kutryk began a planned spacewalk to install the seventh roll-out solar array on the International Space Station. A second spacewalk next week is scheduled to install the eighth and final array, completing an upgrade intended to support the station until its planned retirement and de-orbiting in 2030.Key Facts
- Menon and Kutryk switched their spacesuits to battery power at 7:57 a.m. EDT, beginning a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk.
- The spacewalk was the 285th since assembly of the International Space Station began in 1998.
- The first roll-out solar array was installed in 2021; six had been installed before this spacewalk.
- The six installed arrays increased the station’s power output from about 152 kilowatts to about 200 kilowatts.
- The two final arrays are expected to raise available power to about 215 kilowatts.
- A SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule delivered the final two arrays to the station earlier this month.
- The station’s robotic arm moved the folded arrays from the Dragon capsule to the power truss for storage before installation.
- The astronauts planned to connect the seventh array to power channel 2A; the eighth is scheduled for installation next Thursday on channel 3B.
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