NASA to install seventh iROSA solar array on ISS October 29

On October 29, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and CSA astronaut Joshua Kutryk will perform a roughly 6-hour-45-minute spacewalk from the Quest airlock to install the seventh of eight ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays. The motorless panels deploy using stored spring tension in carbon composite booms; the eighth array on November 5 will complete the upgrade, bringing station power to about 215 kW.

• Spacewalk begins at 8 a.m. EDT, with NASA+ coverage from 6:30 a.m. EDT
• iROSA panels unroll about 60 feet with no motors, driven by stored strain energy
• Upgraded station power capacity reaches roughly 215 kW, 20–30% above degraded arrays
• The panels arrived October 15 aboard SpaceX's CRS-35 Dragon cargo spacecraft