The International Space Station is a few weeks from the final pieces of a power upgrade that began in 2021. NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk are scheduled to step outside on Oct. 29 to fit a roll-out array on the 2A power channel, then go out again on Nov. 5 to deploy the eighth and final one on the 3B channel, NASA said in a media advisory. The agency will preview both outings at a briefing on Oct. 20 from Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Each roll-out array is bolted onto a bracket ahead of one of the station's eight legacy wings, which keep producing power from whatever portion is left uncovered. Those older panels have passed their design life and show the wear NASA anticipated, the agency has said. Once all eight are in place, the station's generating capacity is expected to rise by up to 30%, from 160 kilowatts to about 215 kilowatts, according to the advisory.
The hardware is on its way and the groundwork is done. The final pair of arrays was packed in the trunk of a SpaceX cargo Dragon scheduled to lift off Oct. 13, Spaceflight Now reported. Menon's first spacewalk, on Aug. 6 alongside Jessica Meir, assembled the mounting bracket for the 3B array on the starboard truss, the last such kit needed, while a March outing had readied the 2A channel.
The upgrade comes late in the station's life. NASA and its partners have committed to operating the outpost through 2030, after which it is to be brought down in a controlled reentry over an unpopulated stretch of ocean, according to the agency. The extra power is meant to support critical operations including that deorbit.