As it happened: spacewalkers install new solar array

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk installed the seventh International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array, or iROSA. The work upgrades the station’s power system. They began outside the Quest airlock after depressurizing it to vacuum. Both astronauts then traveled along the station’s truss to the array’s storage location.

They released bolts holding the iROSA to its carrier with pistol-grip tools. Menon entered a foot restraint at the end of Canadarm-2 and held the array after it was removed. Kutryk continued working near the pallet and later moved to position himself for installation. Menon was then moved toward the bracket for power channel 2A.

The article reports that the array was being aligned with that bracket more than two hours into the spacewalk. The excursion was expected to last about seven hours. The astronauts wore spacesuits and SAFER jet packs, which could help them return if either became untethered.

An ISS Roll-Out Solar Array, or iROSA, is a deployable solar-power panel system for the International Space Station. It provides another way to generate electricity from sunlight. The article identifies iROSA as part of an upgrade to the station’s power system and shows the array being installed on an existing station structure.

The array arrived at the worksite folded or rolled for storage on a pallet attached to the station’s truss. Menon and Kutryk released the bolts securing it. Menon then held the array from the end of Canadarm-2 while the robotic arm moved him toward a mounting bracket. The target was power channel 2A.

The article describes this as the seventh of eight iROSAs planned for the station. It does not explain the array’s detailed construction or give its deployed dimensions. In general, roll-out arrays are stored compactly and extended after installation, allowing spacecraft to add solar collection without launching a fully rigid panel.

The article does not state the new iROSA’s length, width, area, or mass. Its scale is described operationally instead: the array was large enough to require two spacewalkers and the Canadarm-2 robotic arm during installation. Menon held it from a foot restraint while the arm moved him toward its mounting bracket.

The article does provide a clear count. This mission installed the seventh of eight ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays. The astronauts first released several bolts securing the array to a storage pallet on the station’s truss. They then removed it and began aligning it with the bracket for power channel 2A.

Therefore, the reliable numerical answer from this source is one remaining planned array after this installation, assuming the sequence is completed. A precise physical size would require information not included in the article. The seven-hour spacewalk estimate shows that handling and installing the array was a substantial task.

Solar arrays are essential because the ISS needs electrical power for life support, computers, communications, experiments, lighting, and station equipment. Adding arrays can increase the power available for operations. The source directly identifies the iROSAs as an upgrade to the station’s power system, but it does not state a precise power shortage or list every reason for the upgrade.

During this spacewalk, Menon and Kutryk handled an iROSA stored on a pallet along the station’s truss. They removed its retaining bolts, lifted it with help from Canadarm-2, and began aligning it with power channel 2A. Connecting the array to that channel would integrate its generated electricity into the station’s power network.

The article says this was the seventh of eight planned iROSAs. That sequence indicates a broader effort to expand or renew the station’s solar-generation capability. The article does not provide the added wattage, the condition of older arrays, or a forecast of how much extra equipment the upgrade will support.

Once an iROSA is connected to its electrical power channel, electricity produced by its solar cells can enter the station’s power network. That gives the ISS another source of power for onboard systems and equipment. The article frames the installation as an upgrade, but it does not provide a final output figure or describe the connection’s exact electrical steps.

The specific target in this spacewalk was the bracket for power channel 2A. Menon held the array at the end of Canadarm-2 while the robotic arm moved him into alignment. Kutryk translated along the station to position himself for the installation. This careful positioning prepares the array for attachment and electrical integration.

At the point covered by the article, the astronauts were still aligning the iROSA. It had not yet been reported as connected. If the installation is completed, the array should contribute to the ISS power system, while the full benefit would depend on successful mechanical and electrical connections. The article gives no added-power amount.

The astronauts combined their own movements with Canadarm-2’s precise positioning. Menon worked from a foot restraint mounted at the end of the robotic arm. That arrangement stabilized him while he held the iROSA and allowed the arm to move him toward the installation bracket. Kutryk worked separately near the pallet and then translated along the station to prepare for installation.

Before leaving the airlock, both astronauts were fitted with SAFER units. These small, self-contained jet packs are designed for the unlikely event that a spacewalker becomes untethered. The astronauts also used pistol-grip tools to release the bolts securing the array. This divided the job between robotic transport, astronaut handling, and tool-based fastening.

The article does not describe every restraint, tether, or robotic-arm control procedure. It does show a measured sequence: depressurize, check the suits, open the hatch, reach the pallet, release the bolts, remove the array, and align it. The spacewalk was expected to last about seven hours.

Solar cells make electricity by absorbing sunlight and creating a flow of electric charge. They are grouped into panels and arrays so spacecraft can collect more light. The resulting electrical power can run equipment and can also be managed through the spacecraft’s power system. This is the basic reason solar arrays are valuable in orbit.

For the ISS, an iROSA adds another solar-collection surface. In the reported spacewalk, Menon and Kutryk removed the array from a pallet on the station’s truss. Menon held it using a foot restraint on Canadarm-2 while the arm moved him toward the bracket for power channel 2A. After connection, its generated electricity can be routed through that channel.

The article itself does not describe semiconductor physics or give the array’s electrical output. It does state that the iROSA installation upgrades the ISS power system. This seventh array was one of eight planned, showing that the station’s power capability is being expanded through a series of installations.