NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk are scheduled to leave the International Space Station's Quest airlock at 8 a.m. EDT (5 a.m. PT) on Thursday, Oct. 29. They will install a new roll-out solar array.

What they'll do

  • The spacewalk is planned to last six hours and 45 minutes.
  • Menon will ride the Canadarm2 robotic arm with the array to the worksite on the port truss. Kutryk will move along the truss to meet him. Mission controllers will then activate the array.
  • NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney will help suit them up and run the robotic arm.
  • NASA+ coverage starts at 6:30 a.m. EDT (3:30 a.m. PT).

Why it matters

NASA says this will be the seventh International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA). The eighth and final one is planned for a second spacewalk on Thursday, Nov. 5. Together, the eight arrays will increase available power by up to 30%, from 160 kilowatts to about 215 kilowatts. NASA says that power will also support the station's safe, controlled deorbit.

These will be U.S. spacewalks 100 and 101, and the 285th and 286th spacewalks for station assembly, maintenance and upgrades.