NASA to Host News Conference Previewing US Spacewalks 100, 101

NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anil Menon conducts a spacewalk to prepare the International Space Station for future upgrades to its power system. Menon helped build a modification kit on the station’s Starboard 6 truss segment where a roll out solar array is slated to be installed later this year.

NASA astronaut Anil Menon conducts a spacewalk on Aug. 6, 2026, to prepare the International Space Station for future upgrades to its power system.

Credit: NASA

NASA will preview two upcoming spacewalks to complete solar array installation and power augmentation of the International Space Station during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, Oct. 20, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA will stream the event through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

NASA participants in the news conference include:

Gaurang Patel, operations integration manager, Low Earth Orbit Program
Garrett Hehn, spacewalk flight director, Flight Operations Directorate

United States-based media interested in attending in person must contact the Johnson newsroom no later than 3 p.m., Monday, Oct. 19, at: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. Media joining by phone should request dial-in details by the same deadline. To ask a question, media must dial in no later than 15 minutes before the start of the news conference.

Thursday, Oct. 29

During U.S. spacewalk 100, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk will exit the station’s Quest airlock to install and deploy an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) on the 2A electrical power channel. The solar array will be the seventh IROSA and will provide additional power to support critical station operations, including its safe and controlled deorbit.

Thursday, Nov. 5

During U.S. spacewalk 101, Menon and Kutryk will install and deploy the eighth and final IROSA on the 3B channel of the space station, completing the power augmentation upgrades.

The final two roll-out solar arrays will complete the space station’s power system augmentation. Together, the eight roll-out arrays will increase available power by up to 30%, boosting the station’s electric power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts.

NASA will share additional coverage details about U.S. spacewalks 100 and 101 closer to each operation on the agency’s live events web page and the space station blog. The spacewalks will be the 285th and 286th conducted in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

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Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones / Anna Schneider
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / anna.c.schneider@nasa.gov