ISS Spacewalk Anil Menon Joshua Kutryk Seventh Solar Array Explained: US EVA-100, 7 Hours 11 Minutes and One Array to Go
Illustrative image: a deployed ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA) photographed in June 2021. This is an earlier iROSA mission, not the 29 October 2026 spacewalk — no license-safe photo of that spacewalk is on Wikimedia Commons yet. (Image: NASA via Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
TL;DR — ISS spacewalk Anil Menon Joshua Kutryk seventh solar array explained: NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk spent 7 hours 11 minutes outside the International Space Station on 29 October 2026, installing and unfurling the seventh of eight roll-out solar arrays — leaving just one more spacewalk, on 5 November, to complete the station's power upgrade.
📌 KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- The spacewalk: US spacewalk 100 — the 285th spacewalk supporting station assembly, maintenance and upgrades — lasting 7 hours 11 minutes, from 7:57 a.m. to 3:08 p.m. EDT on 29 October 2026.
- The crew: NASA's Anil Menon (spacewalk 1, red-striped suit) on his fourth spacewalk, and the Canadian Space Agency's Joshua Kutryk (spacewalk 2) on his first — the fifth Canadian ever to walk in space.
- The job: install and deploy the seventh ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA) on power channel 2A — a 63-foot panel that unrolls itself with no motor.
- What's left: one final spacewalk on 5 November installs the eighth iROSA on channel 3B, completing a power upgrade from about 160 to about 215 kilowatts.
- Why it matters: the extra power keeps the ageing station running through its planned retirement and supports its safe, controlled deorbit around 2030.
ISS spacewalk Anil Menon Joshua Kutryk seventh solar array explained: what happened?
Menon and Kutryk left the station's Quest airlock on the morning of 29 October 2026 (evening IST) for a job NASA had been building toward for five years. Riding the Canadarm2 robotic arm, Menon carried the rolled-up array — about 750 pounds folded — from its temporary stowage platform to the station's port-side truss, where the pair bolted it into place on the 2A electrical power channel and connected its cables during a night pass, when the station was in Earth's shadow and the array could not generate power unexpectedly.
Then came the part that still feels like science fiction. With the locks released, the panel unrolled itself: no motor, no command from the ground — just the spring energy stored in its carbon-composite booms, the same principle as a steel measuring tape snapping open. Mission Control confirmed deployment about 4 hours 23 minutes into the spacewalk, and roughly 12 minutes later the 63-foot (19-metre) blanket lay fully extended, draped over about half of the older, degraded panel beneath it. NASA commentator Rob Navias called the outing "essentially flawless". The spacewalk ended at 3:08 p.m. EDT — 12:38 a.m. IST on 30 October.
Working ahead of schedule, the pair also prepared the finale: they removed beams holding the eighth and final iROSA on its carrier and rotated launch locks left over from its SpaceX Dragon delivery. Both final arrays arrived at the station earlier in October aboard SpaceX's CRS-35 cargo Dragon, launched 13 October and docked 15 October.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Spacewalk | US spacewalk 100; 285th spacewalk supporting ISS assembly, maintenance and upgrades |
| Date and duration | 29 October 2026, 7:57 a.m.–3:08 p.m. EDT (5:27 p.m. IST – 12:38 a.m. IST); 7 hours 11 minutes |
| Crew | Anil Menon (NASA, EV1, red-striped suit, 4th spacewalk) and Joshua Kutryk (CSA, EV2, 1st spacewalk, 5th Canadian spacewalker) |
| Task | Install and deploy the 7th iROSA on power channel 2A, port-side truss |
| The array | 63 feet (19 m) when unrolled; about 750 pounds folded; delivered by SpaceX CRS-35 Dragon |
| Deployment | No motor — stored spring energy in carbon-composite booms unrolls the blanket |
| Next spacewalk | 5 November 2026 (US spacewalk 101): 8th and final iROSA on channel 3B; NASA live coverage from 6:45 a.m. EDT (4:15 p.m. IST) |
| Power target | Full 8-array programme: about 160 kW to about 215 kW, an increase of up to 30% |
Why a new solar panel matters on a 26-year-old station
The station's eight original solar wings were delivered by space shuttles between 2000 and 2009 with a 15-year design life. They have long passed it, and their output has degraded with age, micrometeoroid wear and rocket-plume deposits. Rather than replace them — a far bigger job — NASA mounts the smaller, flexible iROSAs in front of the old wings. The old panels' exposed portions keep producing power, and the new blankets add theirs on top.
Illustrative image: NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen on Canadarm2 during a 2023 spacewalk to install a roll-out solar array — the same technique Menon and Kutryk used on 29 October 2026. (Image: NASA Johnson Space Center via Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
One honest distinction matters: the "up to 30%" figure and the 160-to-215-kilowatt target describe the whole eight-array programme, not Thursday's single panel. One array alone does not raise station power by 30% — it is the penultimate piece of a system upgrade that only completes on 5 November.
Why it matters for India readers
For India, this is a space double-header week. Hours after Menon and Kutryk returned inside, ISRO counted down to tonight's NVS-03 launch at 11:51 p.m. IST — the flight meant to restore NavIC, India's own navigation system, to standalone positioning. Read our ISRO NVS-03 launch date October 30 GSLV NavIC explainer for why that single satellite matters so much. The two stories share a theme: ageing space infrastructure — a navigation constellation down to three working satellites, a station past its panels' design life — being kept alive by careful, incremental engineering rather than replaced wholesale.
Indian readers can also watch the finale live: NASA's coverage of the 5 November spacewalk begins at 6:45 a.m. EDT, which is 4:15 p.m. IST — an afternoon watch, not a middle-of-the-night one. And the station's extended life matters beyond NASA: its research, Earth observation and technology demonstrations run through to the planned 2030 retirement, which is the same horizon India's own human-spaceflight programme is building toward. For the other end of this week's space news, see our Japan MMX mission Mars moon Phobos sample return 2031 explainer.
Should you care?
✅ Verdict: Yes, if you follow spaceflight — and mark 5 November. Thursday's spacewalk was the penultimate step of a five-year power renovation, executed, in NASA's words, essentially flawlessly. The real payoff lands next Thursday, when the eighth array completes the upgrade and the station's power system is finally finished. Watch that one; this one was the dress rehearsal that worked.
FAQs
Who performed the ISS spacewalk on 29 October 2026?
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk. It was Menon's fourth spacewalk and Kutryk's first, making him the fifth Canadian ever to walk in space. The outing was designated US spacewalk 100.
What is an iROSA and how does it deploy without a motor?
An iROSA (ISS Roll-Out Solar Array) is a thin, flexible solar blanket stored rolled around a spool. Its carbon-composite booms act like a giant measuring tape: the spring energy stored when the array is rolled up drives it to unroll itself to about 63 feet once the locks are released — no motor or powered mechanism needed.
How long was the 29 October 2026 spacewalk and what did it achieve?
It lasted 7 hours 11 minutes, from 7:57 a.m. to 3:08 p.m. EDT. Menon and Kutryk installed and deployed the seventh of eight iROSAs on power channel 2A, and completed get-ahead tasks for the final installation.
When is the next ISS spacewalk and what happens then?
On 5 November 2026, Menon and Kutryk go out again (US spacewalk 101) to install the eighth and final iROSA on channel 3B. That completes the station's power augmentation, taking available generation from about 160 to about 215 kilowatts. NASA's live coverage begins at 6:45 a.m. EDT (4:15 p.m. IST).
TAKEAWAY: Seven arrays down, one to go: a flawless 7-hour spacewalk has left the International Space Station a single outing away from a finished power system — and a safer road to its 2030 retirement.
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Sources
- NASA — Spacewalkers Install Roll-Out Solar Array for Power Generation (29 Oct 2026)
- NASA — Astronauts Suit Up to Prepare for Power Upgrade Spacewalk (29 Oct 2026)
- Spaceflight Now — Spacewalking astronauts unfurl upgraded solar array (29 Oct 2026)
- Spaceflight Now — As it happened: spacewalkers install new solar array (29 Oct 2026)
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