NASA Astronauts Complete 6½‑Hour Spacewalk to Prepare ISS Solar Array

Published: 07 am, 6 August 2026

Apollo‑class ingenuity was on full display as NASA astronauts Anil Menon and Jessica Meir spent 6.5 hours outside the International Space Station (ISS) performing a critical maintenance task. They installed mounting hardware that will enable the ISS’s 3B power channel to accommodate new roll‑out solar arrays slated for deployment later this year.

The spacewalk spanned a broad portion of the station’s exterior, during which the crew worked in a vacuum and extreme cold. Their tasks included attaching struts, aligning fittings, and verifying electrical connections—all of which are essential for the structural integrity and electrical performance of the forthcoming solar panels.

By adding this hardware, NASA is effectively extending the ISS’s power‑generation capacity, ensuring that the crewed laboratory has the necessary energy resources to support scientific experiments, life‑support systems, and orbital maneuvering. This expansion reflects a key element of the station’s long‑term sustainability plan.