Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk went back outside the International Space Station on Thursday, and this time he helped finish the job. He and NASA astronaut Anil Menon installed and unrolled the eighth and last of the station’s new roll-out solar arrays during a six-hour, 59-minute spacewalk that ended at 3:35 p.m. ET, NASA says.
It was Kutryk’s second spacewalk, a week after his first, and Menon’s fifth.
What they finished
The new arrays are called IROSAs, short for ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays. NASA’s work to boost the station’s power started in February 2021. With all eight in place, NASA says the station’s power capacity goes from 160 kilowatts to about 215 kilowatts.
This last one went onto what NASA calls the 3B power channel. It was the 286th spacewalk in support of station assembly, maintenance and upgrades.
Kutryk’s spacewalks by the numbers
| First | Second | |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Oct. 29 | Nov. 5 |
| Length | just over 7 hours | 6 hours, 59 minutes |
| Job | Install the seventh new solar array | Install the eighth and final array |
Sources: NASA, Oct. 29 and NASA, Nov. 5.
Why it’s worth your time: Kutryk is only the fifth Canadian to walk in space, and he’s now done it twice in a week, helping finish a power upgrade that took more than five years. It’s a good week for Canada in orbit.