NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk installed the eighth and final iROSA solar array on the International Space Station during a Nov. 5 spacewalk.
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk installed and deployed the eighth and final International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA) on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, completing the station's solar array upgrade.
The spacewalk began at 8:36 a.m. EST and ended at 3:35 p.m. EST, lasting 6 hours and 59 minutes. Menon and Kutryk worked on the starboard side of the station's backbone truss at the 3B power channel. They retrieved the 750-pound (340 kilograms) iROSA assembly from a temporary stowage platform, moved it to the worksite using the Canadarm2 robotic arm, and mounted it to a previously assembled bracket kit.
After Menon attached the cables, Mission Control reported a problem. "We are seeing half of the expected shunt current that we want," said Nichole Stilwell, a NASA astronaut serving as the spacewalk officer in Mission Control. "In this current config, we are not necessarily going to deploy."
Because the arrays generate electricity whenever lit by the sun, the astronauts waited for the station to enter Earth's shadow before inspecting the connectors. They used the time to clean up the worksite and return the Canadarm2 to its park site. The issue was then cleared.
"We are seeing good shunt currents on the ground, so we are go for deploy," Stilwell said.
After releasing two bolts, the array unfurled to its full 63-foot (19 meters) length in about 10 minutes. No motor was needed; the iROSA extended itself using only the potential energy stored by its rolled-up carbon composite booms.
Menon said at the end of the spacewalk: "Today marks the completion of not just one solar array but, over 15 years after its development, eight arrays."
Each of the eight iROSAs and their mounting assemblies were delivered to the space station by SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft. Four teams of two astronauts deployed the arrays beginning in June 2021. The first iROSA arrays were deployed in 2021.
Flight controllers determined the iROSA augmentations were needed when the station's eight original arrays began to show degraded power output as they exceeded their 15-year design life. The iROSAs provide the additional electricity needed to support ISS operations through its retirement and controlled deorbit, currently scheduled to occur in late 2030.
The completion of the eight iROSA installations finishes the power-system upgrades intended to carry the International Space Station through the end of its service life. Thursday's spacewalk was the 101st U.S. EVA at the International Space Station without a space shuttle being present and the 286th overall in support of ISS assembly, maintenance and upgrades. It was the ninth spacewalk of 2026 and the sixth conducted by the station's 75th resident crew.
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