By The Star Queen · Friday, October 30, 2026 · Star Queen Chronicles
Friends, while all eyes are on Starbase this week, two astronauts quietly pulled off one of the smoothest spacewalks I’ve followed in a while. On Thursday, Oct. 29, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk floated out of the International Space Station’s Quest airlock and installed a brand-new solar array. NASA’s own commentator, Rob Navias, called it “essentially flawless.” I’ll take it! 🙌
What They Did Out There
The spacewalk officially began at 7:57 a.m. EDT, when the two switched their suits to battery power, and ended at 3:08 p.m. EDT, for a total of 7 hours and 11 minutes.
Their job was to install an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array, which NASA shortens to IROSA, on the station’s 2A power channel. First they worked through a series of bolts to free the rolled-up array from the carrier it rode up on. Then Menon locked his boots into a foot restraint on the end of Canadarm2, the station’s Canadian-built robotic arm, and rode it out to the port side of the main truss holding the array. NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney flew the arm from inside.
The array went onto the P4 truss, on a bracket installed during an earlier spacewalk in March. At 12:20 p.m. EDT, the crew released the last restraints and the array unrolled all by itself in about 10 minutes. There’s no motor involved: it opens using energy stored in its carbon-fiber composite booms. I love how simple and clever that is.
The pair ran about an hour ahead of schedule, so they used the extra time on “get-ahead” tasks for the next spacewalk.
Why These Arrays Matter
The IROSAs are thinner, lighter panels laid out in front of the station’s original solar wings. According to NASA, all eight together will raise the station’s power capacity from about 160 kilowatts to roughly 215 kilowatts, an increase of up to 30 percent.
That extra power isn’t only for science. NASA says it also supports critical operations through the end of the station’s life, including a safe, controlled deorbit. The ISS is planned to retire in 2030, so these arrays are helping it run strong all the way to the finish line.
The final two arrays came up rolled and folded in the unpressurized trunk of a SpaceX cargo Dragon, launched on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral. Each one weighs about 750 pounds folded, according to Spaceflight Now. (Yes, my SpaceX heart did a little happy dance there. 🚀)
Milestones for the Record Books
- This was U.S. spacewalk 100, and the 285th spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades.
- It was Kutryk’s first spacewalk. He became the fifth Canadian astronaut to walk in space, and the first since David Saint-Jacques in 2019. Kutryk arrived at the station on Oct. 1 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon.
- It was Menon’s fourth spacewalk, bringing his total to 26 hours and 31 minutes, all since he arrived on a Russian Soyuz in July.
What’s Next
One more to go! NASA is planning a spacewalk on Thursday, Nov. 5 to install the eighth and final IROSA on the 3B power channel, with live coverage starting at 6:45 a.m. EDT. Once that one is in place, the station’s power upgrade will be complete. As always, spacewalk dates can shift, so watch NASA’s space station blog for the latest.
I’ll be watching with my coffee. Will you? ☕✨
The Star Queen
Sources
- NASA Space Station Blog, “Spacewalkers Install Roll-Out Solar Arrays for Power Generation” (Oct. 29, 2026)
- NASA Space Station Blog, “Astronauts Begin Spacewalk to Install Roll-Out Solar Arrays” (Oct. 29, 2026)
- Spaceflight Now, “Spacewalking astronauts unfurl upgraded solar array to boost space station power” (Oct. 29, 2026)
- Spaceflight Now, “As it happened: spacewalkers install new solar array” (Oct. 29, 2026)