100th US spacewalk installs the ISS's 7th iROSA solar array
The full story behind my Short: NASA astronaut Anil Menon and CSA astronaut Joshua Kutryk completed a 7h 11m spacewalk (U.S. EVA 100 / 285th ISS EVA) installing the seventh iROSA on channel 2A. Final array planned 5 Nov on 3B — up to +30% power (~160→~215 kW), including for controlled deorbit.
Schedule and live-coverage times can shift. Power figures are NASA's announced capacity targets once all eight iROSAs are installed. This page is not advice.
The short version
The 100th U.S. spacewalk bolted another roll-out solar array onto the International Space Station — the seventh iROSA — with the eighth and final array due on 5 November [1][2].
What they found
Per NASA (via ScienceDaily, 30 Oct 2026), Menon and Kutryk finished U.S. spacewalk 100 at 3:08 p.m. EDT after installing and deploying an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array on the port-side 2A channel. They also prepared for the 5 November spacewalk that will place the eighth and final array on channel 3B. Together the eight new arrays raise available power by as much as 30%, supporting critical operations including the station's planned safe, controlled deorbit [1][2].
Limits and caveats
- Plans can slip. November 5 timing and live coverage start times are NASA announcements as of late October 2026.
- Capacity, not instantaneous draw. ~160→~215 kW is the stated generation-capacity uplift once all eight iROSAs are in.
- Illustrative imagery. Spacewalk and array stills are NASA public-domain photos; the truss diagram is original labelled line art, not to scale.
Watch the Short
Would you watch the final ISS solar array go up live on 5 November?
Why it matters
Ageing primary arrays and growing power needs — including a guided end-of-life deorbit — make the iROSA upgrade a concrete infrastructure story, not just a spacewalk highlight reel.
Full narration (transcript)
The hundredth U.S. spacewalk just bolted more power onto the I S S — seven hours eleven minutes outside. Why does an ageing station need a power boost now? NASA's Anil Menon and Canada's Joshua Kutryk installed the seventh roll-out solar array, iROSA, on channel two A. When the eighth and final array goes up on November fifth, available power rises by up to thirty percent — about one sixty to two fifteen kilowatts. New arrays sit over older wings past their design life. Extra electricity keeps critical systems running. That includes power for the station's planned safe, controlled deorbit — a guided end of life. U.S. spacewalk one hundred was Menon's fourth and Kutryk's first — the two hundred eighty-fifth I S S spacewalk overall. Follow NASA for the live November fifth coverage. Follow the link to the main website for much deeper information.
Sources
- [1] ScienceDaily / NASA (30 Oct 2026). Astronauts just gave the International Space Station a powerful upgrade. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/10/261030002931.htm
- [2] NASA ISS / spacewalk coverage context. https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/
- [3] NASA International Space Station overview. https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/
Credits
Images via Wikimedia Commons (illustrative unless stated): NASA astronaut Anil Menon conducts a spacewalk (iss075e0011109).jpg (NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain); ISS-65 Shane Kimbrough Helps Install Solar Array on Space Station.jpg (NASA/Thomas Pesquet, Public domain); ISS-65 The second ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA).jpg (NASA, Public domain); ISS new iROSA deployed.jpg (NASA, Public domain); A view peering down a pair of the International Space Station's roll-out solar arrays (iss074e0403068).jpg (NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain); Own sketch: ISS truss old vs iROSA (Nasper Mushonga, own work); Iss after installation of roll out solar arrays.jpg (NASA, Public domain); Moonlit, violet-hued view of the International Space Station’s main solar arrays (iss073e0850593).jpg (NASA Johnson Space Center / Kimiya Yui, Public domain). On-screen graphics: own.
AI voice note: the narration in the Short is an AI clone of my own voice (Chatterbox TTS by Resemble AI, MIT licence), used with my consent. I wrote the script and checked the figures against the sources above.
This page is general information, not medical or financial advice.