ISS Spacewalkers Install 7th Solar Array, Lifting Power Capacity by Up to 30%

Q: How did Menon and first-time spacewalker Kutryk help push the ISS toward a 30% power boost with one 7-hour spacewalk?

Menon and Joshua Kutryk moved the ISS significantly closer to its planned 30% power boost by installing and deploying the station’s seventh Roll-Out Solar Array during a 7-hour, 11-minute spacewalk, adding new generating capacity on the 2A power channel and setting up the final upgrade to follow. Working outside the station, they mounted the compact IROSA unit on its support structure, connected it into the ISS electrical system, and then released it to unfurl to its full length. NASA said the new blanket-like array, which rolls out rather than unfolding like the older wings, is designed to offset aging in the station’s original solar panels. Mission commentators said this newly activated array adds about 8 kilowatts of power. The pair also completed “get-ahead” tasks to prepare the last remaining installation, on the 3B power channel, during a second spacewalk scheduled for Nov. 5. That matters because this EVA did not complete the full 30% upgrade by itself; it installed the seventh of eight planned arrays and helped pave the way for the eighth and final one. Once all eight IROSAs are in place, NASA expects the station’s power generation capacity to rise from about 160 kilowatts to roughly 215 kilowatts, enough to support research, life-support systems, visiting spacecraft, and systems needed for a safe, controlled deorbit at the end of the ISS program. The outing was Menon’s fourth spacewalk, Kutryk’s first, and the 285th ISS assembly and maintenance EVA.

3 articles · Updated · NASA · Oct 29

A 7-hour, 11-minute spacewalk ended at 3:08 p.m. EDT after NASA astronaut Anil Menon and CSA astronaut Joshua Kutryk installed and deployed the seventh roll-out solar array on the ISS 2A power channel.
The new IROSA adds power for critical station operations, including support for a safe and controlled deorbit, and moves the station closer to completing its power-system upgrade.
Nov. 5 is the next target date, when Menon and Kutryk are scheduled to install the eighth and final array on the 3B channel; they also finished several preparatory tasks during this outing.
All eight arrays together are expected to raise available ISS power by up to 30%, increasing generation from 160 kilowatts to about 215 kilowatts.