Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk completes second spacewalk

Spacewalk completes station power upgrade

Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk completed his second spacewalk on Thursday, spending nearly seven hours in the vacuum of space as he worked to upgrade the International Space Station's power system.

Kutryk and NASA astronaut Anil Menon stepped back into the space station at the end of a six-hour, 59-minute spacewalk that ended at 3:35 p.m. ET.

The astronauts installed the eighth and final solar array on the starboard side of the truss, which serves as the station’s structural backbone.

Canadian roles and mission details

NASA astronaut Nichole Stilwell, who served as spacewalk communicator from Houston, congratulated the crew, which also included NASA’s Luke Delaney and Jessica Watkins inside the station.

"You all showed us what the best of humanity looks like, executing one of the most difficult and dangerous things humans do, and making it look easy," she said in a message that could be heard in NASA's live broadcast.

Kutryk, in his first message upon returning to the space station, praised and thanked the teamwork that made the spacewalk possible.

"It really shows out here when you’re in the seat, hanging over the Earth, so thank you for that," he said.

The Canadian Space Agency says there were several Canadians playing key roles in Thursday's spacewalk. Those include CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons, who spoke with the crew as capsule communicator, or capcom, from Houston.

The Canadarm 2 robotic arm was used to move the solar array, while CSA teams in Longueuil, Que., helped to support operations, the agency said.

Background on the upgrade campaign

The campaign to upgrade the solar arrays began in 2021 and is expected to increase the station's power generation capacity by up to 30 per cent, according to the agency.

Kutryk became the fifth Canadian to perform a spacewalk on Oct. 29 when he and Menon worked together to install new solar arrays needed to upgrade the station's power capacity. Thursday was a fifth spacewalk for Menon, NASA said.

Before Kutryk, the last Canadian to perform a spacewalk was David Saint-Jacques in 2019.

Kutryk and his fellow crew members took off for the International Space Station on Oct. 1 for a mission expected to last six months.

Why it matters

The installation completes a multi-year effort to boost the International Space Station's power capacity, supporting continued research and operations aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Sources

• nationalobserver.com: Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk completes second spacewalk | Canada's National Observer: Climate News
• castanet.net: Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk completes second spacewalk - Castanet.net
• netnewsledger.com: NetNewsLedger - Joshua Kutryk completes second spacewalk as final ISS solar array goes to work

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