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NASA scheduled an Oct. 20 news conference to preview two planned spacewalks at the International Space Station. The Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 operations are intended to install the seventh and eighth roll-out solar arrays, completing an upgrade expected to raise available power by up to 30%, according to NASA.
NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Oct. 20, to preview two planned International Space Station spacewalks that are intended to install the final solar arrays in the station’s power upgrade. The operations, designated U.S. spacewalks 100 and 101, are scheduled for Oct. 29 and Nov. 5; NASA says the eight-array upgrade will increase available electrical power by up to 30%.
The agency says the briefing will take place at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and will be streamed through NASA’s online platforms. The listed participants are Gaurang Patel, operations integration manager for the Low Earth Orbit Program, and Garrett Hehn, a spacewalk flight director in the Flight Operations Directorate. NASA has directed viewers to its live events page for streaming information.
For the first operation, scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29, NASA astronauts Anil Menon and Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency are planned to exit the station’s Quest airlock. They are to install and deploy the seventh International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array, or IROSA, on the station’s 2A electrical power channel. NASA says the added power will support critical station operations, including its safe and controlled deorbit.
The second spacewalk is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 5. Menon and Kutryk are expected to install and deploy the eighth and final IROSA on the station’s 3B channel. NASA describes that operation as the final step in the current power augmentation upgrades. The agency says the arrays together will raise the station’s electric power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts, or increase available power by up to 30%.
The Final Arrays and Station Power
The two planned operations matter because they would complete the eight-array IROSA installation, expanding the station’s electrical generation capacity while it continues research and crewed operations. NASA says the full set is expected to increase capacity from 160 kilowatts to about 215 kilowatts. The agency’s stated estimate is an increase of up to 30%; the announcement does not provide a separate calculation or operational performance data for the completed system.
NASA also links the additional power to the station’s long-term operations, including its safe and controlled deorbit. That makes the work relevant beyond near-term power needs: the station’s systems must continue to support operations as NASA plans for its eventual end of service. The announcement, however, does not give a new deorbit date or describe how the arrays affect that timeline.
The briefing gives reporters and the public a chance to hear operational details before the scheduled spacewalks. The work involves two astronauts, the Quest airlock and specific power channels, and NASA has said it will provide further coverage information closer to each operation. Until then, the dates and plan described in the release are the agency’s schedule, not confirmation that the spacewalks have taken place.
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How the IROSA Upgrade Reaches Completion
The spacewalks are part of a program to augment the International Space Station’s electrical power system with roll-out solar arrays. NASA’s announcement identifies the two arrays planned for October and November as the seventh and eighth in the set. Installing the seventh on the 2A channel and the eighth on the 3B channel would complete the planned array sequence described by the agency.
NASA says the Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 activities will be the 285th and 286th spacewalks conducted in support of station assembly, maintenance and upgrades. The agency also states that the news conference is a preview, with the two operations still scheduled for later dates. This distinction matters: NASA has announced the plan and its intended power gains, but the work remains to be performed.
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Schedule and Operational Details Pending
NASA’s release sets out planned dates, crew assignments and installation targets, but it does not confirm that either spacewalk has occurred. Spacewalk schedules can be revised, and the announcement does not explain whether weather, technical issues or other operational factors could change the dates. It also does not give the expected duration of either excursion or a detailed account of the installation sequence.
The agency has not yet published the additional coverage details it says will come closer to each operation. The release gives the projected capacity after the full upgrade but does not report measured output from the completed eight-array system, since the final two installations are still ahead on the announced schedule. No revised station deorbit date is included.
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Briefing Before October and November Spacewalks
NASA’s news conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT on Oct. 20, with a stream planned through the agency’s online platforms. U.S.-based media seeking to attend at Johnson must contact the newsroom by 3 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 19. Media planning to join by phone must request dial-in details by the same deadline and dial in at least 15 minutes before the briefing to ask a question.
NASA says it will share more coverage information for the Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 spacewalks closer to each operation through its live events page and space station blog. The next milestones are the briefing and, if the schedule holds, the two installations that would complete the IROSA power augmentation work.
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Key Questions
When is NASA’s spacewalk preview news conference?
NASA scheduled it for 2 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Johnson Space Center in Houston, with online streaming planned.
When are U.S. spacewalks 100 and 101 planned?
The first is scheduled for Oct. 29, and the second for Nov. 5. NASA has announced these as planned dates; the operations have not yet taken place.
Who is scheduled to perform the spacewalks?
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk are assigned to both planned operations, according to NASA.
What will the two spacewalks install?
The Oct. 29 spacewalk is planned to install the seventh IROSA on the 2A channel. The Nov. 5 spacewalk is planned to install the eighth and final IROSA on the 3B channel.
How much power are the arrays expected to add?
NASA says all eight arrays will increase available power by up to 30%, raising the station’s electric power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts.
Source: primary
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