NASA sets Oct. 20 Houston briefing for final two ISS solar-array spacewalks

The preview will explain planned Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 installations that would finish the station’s roll-out solar-array upgrades.

issue.red Published 18 Oct 2026, 16:10 1 min read

NASA ISS power upgrade:briefing20Oct2pmEDT,plannedspacewalks29Octand5Nov;archivalNASAspacewalkphoto6Aug2026. — AI editorial collage incorporating NASA photograph iss075e0011109 of Anil Menon during a spacewalk on 6 August 2026. Archive image, not the planned October/November operations. Photo: NASA; factual news use under NASA media guidelines, without endorsement. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-to-host-news-conference-previewing-us-spacewalks-100-101/ · Usage: https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/

NASA will outline plans for the final two roll-out solar arrays on the International Space Station at a Houston news conference on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The briefing starts at 2 p.m. EDT — 1 p.m. Central Daylight Time in Houston — and will be streamed through NASA’s live-event platforms.

Two installations remain

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk are scheduled to conduct U.S. spacewalk 100 on Oct. 29. Their task is to install and deploy the seventh roll-out array on the station’s 2A power channel.

The pair are then due to install the eighth and final array on the 3B channel during U.S. spacewalk 101 on Nov. 5. NASA says the complete set of eight arrays would increase available power by up to 30%, raising generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts. Those figures describe the completed upgrade, rather than power already added by the two upcoming operations.

How to follow the preview

The Johnson Space Center briefing will include operations integration manager Gaurang Patel and spacewalk flight director Garrett Hehn. NASA will publish additional coverage details closer to the walks on its live-events page and station blog. The Oct. 20 event is a preview of the work; the installations remain scheduled for later dates.

Sources

Media advisory M26-082: U.S. spacewalks100and101 — NASA