The two astronauts concluded the spacewalk at 3:35 p.m. EST after 6 hours and 59 minutes of work.
The mission, designated as the 101st U.S. spacewalk at the station, marks the culmination of an augmentation project that began in February 2021. By adding these eight compact, high-efficiency arrays, NASA and its international partners have increased the station’s total power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts, according to NASA. For Menon, the outing was his fifth career spacewalk, while it marked the second for Kutryk.
Installing the final power channel
Menon, a NASA astronaut, and Kutryk, representing the Canadian Space Agency, performed the installation on the 3B power channel of the space station.
Expedition 75 continues preparing for Thursday's power upgrade spacewalk while conducting microgravity research and swapping payloads in a @SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft. More… https://t.co/z1eoceIuGf pic.twitter.com/JKqR6mQRpl
The process faced a brief delay when the connectors needed to be inspected. Stilwell told the crew that, in the current configuration, deployment was not necessarily going to proceed. Out of safety concerns — given that the arrays generate electricity whenever lit by the sun — the astronauts waited for the station to enter Earth’s shadow before inspecting the connectors. Once good shunt currents were confirmed on the ground, the crew released two bolts and watched as the array unfurlled to its full 63-foot (19-meter) length. The deployment relied on potential energy stored within the carbon composite booms, requiring no motors to extend.
Boosting power for the station’s final years
The iROSA project began in February 2021 to augment the station’s power generation. These new arrays are half the size of the old ones and bring 40% more power, raising the station’s power generation capacity by up to 30%.
Spacewalk today! Good luck out there, Josh and Anil. Big risk to be outside wearing just a cloth suit, but for intricate, complex tasks requiring judgement, people are better than robots. They’re installing the final new solar array. Watch live: https://t.co/hbeuNSrFm2 @NASA… pic.twitter.com/HChUZSXqPK
The installation effort involved multiple crews since February 2021. Beginning in June 2021, four teams of two astronauts deployed the arrays, and astronauts have completed 18 spacewalks in total to prepare power channel equipment and install the eight arrays. This most recent excursion was the ninth spacewalk of 2026 and the 286th overall in support of ISS assembly, maintenance and upgrades.
A busy season for station crews
In the lead-up to the final installation, Menon and Kutryk also participated in the 100th U.S. spacewalk on October 29, 2026, which involved installing the seventh iROSA array. During that mission, NASA reported the station was approximately 267 miles (430 kilometers) above the South Atlantic Ocean when photographic documentation was captured. Beyond their technical duties, Menon, Watkins, and Delaney participated in civic duties; the three astronauts cast their votes on Tuesday, November 3, using makeshift voting booths established inside the orbital laboratory, continuing a tradition that began in 1997.
Technical details of orbital maintenance
| Statistic | Data |
|---|---|
| Spacewalk duration | 6 hours, 59 minutes |
| Total iROSA units installed | 8 |
| Power increase | ~30% (160kW to 215kW) |
| Total ISS spacewalks (US) | 101 |
Frequently asked questions about the power upgrade
Why did the astronauts have to wait for the Earth’s shadow to inspect the cables? The solar arrays generate high levels of electricity whenever they are exposed to sunlight.
What happens to the station’s power supply now that all eight arrays are deployed? With all eight iROSAs active, the station’s power generation capacity has been increased from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts.
LIVE: Watch as @astro_anil and Joshua Kutryk of @csa_asc install the final roll-out solar array on the @space_station during a spacewalk that will last about seven hours. The solar arrays will boost power to the orbital lab. https://t.co/wAkkOdTJQR
How does this change the station’s end-of-life plan?
The completed installation finishes the station’s power augmentation upgrades, boosting its power generation capacity by up to 30% and supporting continued operations.
“It is appropriate that we have just exceeded 26 years of continuous human residency on the International Space Station, and your team demonstrated the very best of humanity by performing one of the most challenging and perilous tasks humans undertake while making it appear simple,” Stilwell remarked throughout the mission.
LIVE NOW 🔴 One week after his first spacewalk, @astro_kutryk is conducting his second EVA: https://t.co/oWnU4VmSDu
“With this, we have finalized the installation of eight solar arrays, a process that began more than 15 years ago,” Menon observed once the operation concluded. "We got it done!"
More on Kutryk
Earlier today, @astro_anil spoke from the International Space Station with @MarkRober, taking questions from students about life in space. Tune in: https://t.co/RkemqsKYNg pic.twitter.com/XdZymV11nh
Worth a look