Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk to complete final solar array installation on ISS
Joshua Kutryk will conduct his second spacewalk to install the last of eight new solar arrays on the International Space Station, marking the first Canadian EVA since 2019.
Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk is scheduled to exit the International Space Station today for his second spacewalk in two weeks. The mission will see him and NASA astronaut Anil Menon attach the eighth and final solar array to the starboard side of the station's truss, completing a series of upgrades that will boost the station's power capacity.
Kutryk, who arrived aboard the ISS on Oct. 1 as part of the SpaceX Crew-13 mission, previously performed a spacewalk on Oct. 29, becoming the fifth Canadian to conduct an EVA when he and Menon installed seven of the eight new arrays.
The Canadian Space Agency notes that spacewalks are essential for repairing, installing, or manually handling equipment on the orbiting laboratory. The last Canadian to conduct a spacewalk was David Saint-Jacques in 2019.