On Thursday, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk launched a spacewalk at 7:57 a.m. Eastern Time to install the International Space Station’s (ISS) seventh roll‑out solar array. The EVA, which is expected to last more than six and a half hours, will add power to support critical operations, including a future controlled deorbit, NASA said.
According to Xinhua, the unit will be mounted on the station’s 2A electrical power channel, a location chosen for its capacity to handle the increased load. NASA’s Space Station blog noted that the installation will be Menon’s fourth EVA and Kutryk’s first, marking a milestone for both astronauts and the Canadian Space Agency.
The spacewalk is part of the 285th extravehicular activity that has supported ISS assembly, maintenance and upgrades since the station first lifted off in 1998. Lead EVA engineer Sarah Collins, speaking to CBS News, highlighted the precision required to extend and secure the maneuvrable solar array, adding that each segment must be unfolded and tensioned before welding into place.
Background: Powering the Future ISS
The ISS relies on a complex tapestry of solar arrays to generate the 120 kW of electric power it needs to operate life‑support systems, research experiments and communication equipment. Over its more than two‑decade history, the station has incorporated multiple sets of sturdier solar panels, but as scientific payloads and American software systems grow increasingly power‑hungry, the remaining array capacity is tightening.
NASA has been deploying roll‑out solar arrays—slender, flexible panels that can be tucked into the space station’s structure and then expanded—since the 2011 payload module, the Raffaello Multi‑purpose Logistics Module. These arrays offer a compact way to add power without repositioning heavy, rigid panels. Each new array adds roughly 60 kW, bringing the ISS’s total power output to just under 300 kW, a level projected to support the station’s planned controlled deorbit from around 2030.
Experts from the European Space Agency (ESA) have cautioned that the effective lifespan of the arrays may be limited by the harsh solar wind and radiation environment. According to ESA’s Algon S. Allen, the degradation rate of the photovoltaic surface means the station might need a series of replaceable panels by the 2035 maintenance window.
Open Questions and Future Plans
While the new solar array will extend the ISS’s power envelope, several operational timelines remain in flux. NASA has stated that the increased capacity will help power the deorbit burn that will end the station’s active life, but it has not yet set a definitive date for that mission. The deorbit burn will involve firing the station’s thrusters to re‑enter the Earth’s atmosphere in a controlled manner, ensuring debris burns up safely.
Canadian Space Agency officials have asked whether the deployment schedule of the next tier of arrays might shift depending on the ISS’s growing power needs. In a briefing to Canadian media, astronaut Joshua Kutryk said the crew remains flexible, with “each EVA planned to accommodate possible changes in trajectory and power strategy.”
Given that one of the key science payloads, the “Astro‑Fire” experiment developed by the University of California, requires a significant power boost only available after the new array is online, the timing of the deployment directly influences the experiment’s launch window. NASA’s mission operations team has indicated that the payload could begin collecting data in early 2027, pending successful integration.
There is also a technical question about how the roll‑out array will adjust to the station’s varying orbital conditions. ESA’s solar array team pointed out that the arrays are equipped with micro‑adjustments to maintain optimal orientation relative to the Sun as the ISS’s orbit precesses. However, the exact calibration schedule has yet to be publically released.
While the controlled deorbit is a long‑term objective, the immediate benefit of the new array is to provide extra energy for high‑power experiments, life‑support redundancy and stellar‑navigation instrumentation. NASA’s chief engineer, Lisa Thompson, affirmed in their blog that “this new power capacity will give space‑walkers a safety margin that is crucial for both routine operations and emergency scenarios.”
By starting the EVA at 7:57 a.m. Eastern Time, the mission team optimized the schedule to keep crew rest and feeding schedules aligned while minimizing exposure to increased micrometeoroid activity that peaks during the day.
In the coming weeks, mission planners will monitor the array’s deployment methodically, recording tension and structural integrity data. The data will feed back into NASA’s design criteria for any future roll‑out arrays on other modules, including the planned Lunar Gateway. The success of this EVA will set a new standard for rapid, modular power expansion in microgravity.
Meanwhile, the rest of the crew on board the ISS monitored the EVA through real‑time telemetry streams, some of which are streamed live to the public by NASA’s dedicated Space Station Live channel. The international collaboration underscores the ISS’s role as a platform where nations share technology, manpower and thousands of dollars of infrastructure to keep human operations in orbit viable.
As the EVA proceeds, observers anticipate the first secant of the array as it unfurls, a moment that has become emblematic of ISS progress. The MAJOR milestone of the 285th EVA will close with the array being locked in place and the crew celebrating a job well done. The station’s power grid will open to a new capacity that will support future deorbit plans and advance the longevity of the ISS as a laboratory for both Earth‑science and deep‑space exploration.
