NASA Previews US Spacewalks 100 and 101 for ISS Power Upgrade

NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, from its Johnson Space Center in Houston, to preview two upcoming spacewalks. These spacewalks, designated US Spacewalks 100 and 101, are scheduled to finalize the installation of solar arrays and augment the power system of the International Space Station (ISS). The event will be streamed live on various NASA platforms, including nasa.gov/live. Participants in the news conference will include Gaurang Patel, operations integration manager for the Low Earth Orbit Program, and Garrett Hehn, spacewalk flight director for the Flight Operations Directorate.

The first spacewalk, US Spacewalk 100, is set for Thursday, October 29, 2026. During this extravehicular activity, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk will exit the station’s Quest airlock. Their primary objective is to install and deploy the seventh International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) on the 2A electrical power channel. This IROSA is crucial for providing additional power to support the station's critical operations, including its safe and controlled deorbit at the end of its service life.

Subsequently, on Thursday, November 5, 2026, Menon and Kutryk will undertake US Spacewalk 101. This mission involves installing and deploying the eighth and final IROSA on the 3B channel of the space station, thereby completing the power augmentation upgrades. These final two roll-out solar arrays will conclude the significant enhancement of the space station’s power system. Collectively, the eight roll-out arrays are projected to increase the available power by up to 30%, boosting the station’s electric power generation capacity from its current 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts.

These two spacewalks will mark the 285th and 286th conducted in support of the space station’s ongoing assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. NASA has indicated that further coverage details regarding US Spacewalks 100 and 101 will be released closer to each operation date via the agency’s live events web page and the official space station blog.

What to watch: The completion of ISS power augmentation and future station operations.

Editor's note: The draft is complete, accurate, and includes all relevant dates, names, and technical details provided in the source text.