In brief
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk started a spacewalk at 7:57 a.m. EDT on Oct. 29 to install the ISS’s seventh roll‑out solar array, aimed at boosting power for critical operations, including a future controlled deorbit. The EVA was expected to last more than six and a half hours and marked Menon’s fourth and Kutryk’s first spacewalk, the 285th EVA supporting ISS assembly and maintenance. While the effort is running ahead of schedule, uncertainties remain about the actual duration and the precise power benefits the new array will provide.
On Oct. 29, 2026, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk launched a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) at 7:57 a.m. Eastern Time to install and deploy a roll‑out solar array the seventh of its kind on the station.
The new solar array is to be mounted on the station’s 2A electrical power channel. NASA says the addition will supply extra power to support critical operations, including a future controlled deorbit of the ISS. The spacewalk marks Menon’s fourth EVA and Kutryk’s first.
NASA’s press release noted the EVA was expected to last more than six and a half hours, and it was the 285th spacewalk conducted in support of ISS assembly, maintenance and upgrades.
In a companion NASA blog post, the same team’s mission was described in similar terms. The blog confirms the 7:57 a.m. start time, the role of the new array on the 2A power bus, and the intent to enhance ISS power capacity for key future operations.
An unrelated CBS News story reported the EVA was running well ahead of schedule, with the crew having installed the first set of roll‑out arrays. The report highlights the routine progression of ISS upgrades and underscores the international collaboration between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency.
While the EVA’s planned duration exceeds six and a half hours, the exact time to completion remains uncertain until the operation concludes. Additionally, the full impact of the additional power on the ISS’s future deorbit plans will become clearer only after the array’s performance is validated in orbit.
The new array joins six earlier ring arrays that have gradually increased the station’s solar power output over 16 years of operation. NASA emphasizes the long‑term goal of powering the ISS’s controlled deorbit, a process that will require sustained and redundant power supplies.
Sources agree on the EVA’s basic facts—participants, time, location, and purpose—but do not yet provide quantitative analysis of the array’s expected power contribution or detailed timelines for the controlled deorbit. The exact duration of the EVA, the operational readiness of the installed array, and the projected scheduling of controlled deorbit remain topics that NASA will clarify as the work progresses and as the array’s performance data are collected.
