Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk completes nearly seven-hour spacewalk to finish ISS solar array upgrade
Joshua Kutryk and NASA astronaut Anil Menon spent almost seven hours outside the International Space Station to install the final solar array, boosting the station’s power capacity.
Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk and NASA astronaut Anil Menon concluded a six-hour, 59-minute spacewalk on Thursday, completing the installation of the eighth and final solar array on the station’s starboard truss. The EVA, which began just after 8:30 a.m. ET, was part of a campaign that started in 2021 and is expected to raise the ISS’s power generation by up to 30 percent.
NASA astronaut Nichole Stilwell, serving as the spacewalk communicator from Houston, praised the crew, saying they demonstrated "the best of humanity" while performing one of the most difficult and dangerous tasks. Kutryk thanked the team, noting the perspective of working "over the Earth" highlighted the effort.
The spacewalk marked Kutryk’s second EVA and Menon’s fifth, according to NASA. The Canadian Space Agency highlighted contributions from CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons, who acted as capsule communicator, and support teams in Longueuil, Quebec. The Canadarm2 robotic arm was used to maneuver the solar array during the operation.
The mission, which began on Oct. 1 and is slated to last six months, follows the previous Canadian spacewalk performed by David Saint-Jacques in 2019.