[REVISION HISTORY]

ISS solar array upgrade program

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2026-11-01 01:37 UTC → 2026-11-03 09:31 UTC · added ~~removed~~

NASA and Canadian Space Agency astronauts Anil Menon and Joshua Kutryk completed a spacewalk to install the seventh of eight new International Space Station (ISS) Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSA). The mission, which lasted seven hours and 11 minutes, utilized the Canadarm2 robotic arm to transport the array to the station's port side truss structure. This upgrade is part of a program started in 2021 designed to increase the station's power generation capacity by up to 30 percent, moving from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts. The increased electricity is intended to support critical operations and life support systems through the station's planned decommissioning in 2030, as well as its eventual safe and controlled deorbiting. Inside the station, astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney provided support by managing the robotic arm and assisting with suit procedures. A final spacewalk is scheduled for November 5 to install the eighth and last array. Following the installation of the seventh array, astronauts Kutryk and Menon are scheduled to perform a final spacewalk to install the eighth and last roll-out solar array. This upcoming mission is expected to last approximately seven hours and will utilize the Canadarm2 robotic arm to assist with installation on the station’s starboard truss structure. While the power upgrade progresses, the Expedition 75 crew is also conducting microgravity research, including studies on human cardiorespiratory adaptation and vascular tissue cultivation.

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