On a late October morning, two astronauts from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency stepped into the vacuum beside the International Space Station, and in the course of a practical seven-hour task they also passed a quiet marker in the long human effort to work outside a spacecraft. Their hands installed another solar array, one of the few remaining pieces of a power upgrade meant to carry the station toward its planned retirement in 2030. The moment sits within a story that began in 2002, when two colleagues first went outside without a shuttle docked, and it reminds us that large achievements
Astronauts Menon and Kutryk Complete 100th U.S. Spacewalk from ISS Without a Shuttle Present
The 100th U.S. spacewalk without a shuttle docked
Mark
Why does a number like 100 matter for a spacewalk?
Mimi
It marks how long people have been maintaining this place with their hands. Walz and Bursch did the first one in 2002 testing the Quest airlock, and Menon and Kutryk just installed a solar array.
Luke
But it's a count with a very specific definition: U.S. spacewalks without a shuttle docked. Under other counting rules the number is different.
Mark
Right, the overall station total is 285.
Mimi
Yes, with 66 from the Russian segment and 119 during shuttle visits.
Mark
And the solar array, what does it do?
Mimi
It adds power so the station can operate until its planned retirement and reentry in 2030. This was the seventh IROSA since 2021, with one left.
Luke
Worth noting the 2030 date is a plan, not an event. The source gives the power purpose but no details on how much power this array adds.
Mark
What's next?
Mimi
Menon and Kutryk go out again on November 5 to unfurl the final array.
Luke
That's scheduled, not done. Spacewalk dates can move.
Der Puls
- Two astronauts drifted out of the station into open vacuum, carrying the weight of a schedule that will not wait for anyone.
- The station's aging power system demanded new solar wings, and each installation tightened a race against its 2030 retirement.
- Seven hours and eleven minutes of tethered work pushed a counter past the hundredth U.S. spacewalk flown without a shuttle present.
- One more array remains, and a November 5 spacewalk now stands between the station and a completed power upgrade.
On a late October morning, two astronauts from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency stepped into the vacuum beside the International Space Station, and in the course of a practical seven-hour task they also passed a quiet marker in the long human effort to work outside a spacecraft. Their hands installed another solar array, one of the few remaining pieces of a power upgrade meant to carry the station toward its planned retirement in 2030. The moment sits within a story that began in 2002, when two colleagues first went outside without a shuttle docked, and it reminds us that large achievements are often built from a long line of ordinary, careful steps.
At 7:57 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, October 29, Anil Menon of NASA and Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency left the International Space Station to begin a spacewalk. They worked for 7 hours and 11 minutes, and when they returned inside, their outing had reached a quiet milestone: the 100th U.S. spacewalk conducted with no shuttle docked to the station.
Their task was practical. They installed a new solar array to extend the station's electricity supply, the seventh such roll-out array placed since 2021 and the second-to-last planned. The added power is meant to keep the station running until its scheduled retirement in 2030.
Menon marked the count with a simple remark, calling it an incredible milestone that signifies how much has been done. The number belongs to a longer tally. The station has seen 285 spacewalks in all, and the first of the no-shuttle U.S. outings began in February 2002, when Carl Walz and Dan Bursch went out through the Quest airlock to test its systems and handle housekeeping chores.
Since then, 51 NASA astronauts have joined the first 100 of these walks, alongside colleagues from the European Space Agency, Japan, Roscosmos, the Canadian Space Agency and the United Arab Emirates. Menon and Kutryk now prepare to go out again on November 5 to unfurl the final array and complete the station's power upgrade.
At 7:57 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, October 29, Anil Menon of NASA and Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency stepped out of the International Space Station to begin a spacewalk. Both are flight engineers on Expedition 75. They finished at 3:08 p.m., after 7 hours and 11 minutes outside, and by then the work had pushed a counter past a round number: it was the 100th U.S. spacewalk from the station conducted when no space shuttle was docked.
The task itself was practical. The two installed a new solar array to extend the station's electricity supply. It was the seventh ISS roll-out solar array, or IROSA, put in place since 2021, and the second-to-last planned. The added power is meant to keep the station running until its retirement, deorbit and reentry, which is scheduled for 2030.
At the end of the outing, Menon reflected on the number. "This is USOS EVA 100," he said, using the shorthand for the U.S. Operating Segment, and called it an incredible milestone that signifies how much has been done.
The count sits inside a larger one. Across the station's assembly, maintenance and upgrades, there have been 285 spacewalks in all. Of those, 66 were conducted from the Russian segment, and 119 took place while shuttle crews were visiting. The 100 U.S. spacewalks without a shuttle present are the category Thursday's outing closed out.
That tally began on February 20, 2002, when Expedition 4 crewmates Carl Walz and Dan Bursch, both of NASA, went out through the Quest airlock without a shuttle at the station. Their EVA lasted five hours and 47 minutes. It tested the airlock's systems and took care of what were described as housekeeping chores.
Since then, the roster has widened. Fifty-one NASA astronauts have taken part in the first 100 of these spacewalks, along with seven from the European Space Agency, four from Japan's JAXA, three Roscosmos cosmonauts, one Canadian Space Agency astronaut and one crew member from the United Arab Emirates. All of them wore extravehicular mobility unit suits while working in the vacuum.
Other milestones put the number in perspective. The 100th ISS spacewalk overall, counting shuttle outings, came in 2007, and the 200th followed ten years later. The 100th station EVA that included Russian outings but excluded shuttle ones arrived in 2018, when the split was 48 U.S. and 51 Russian. Counting every spacecraft and orbital platform, the world reached 500 spacewalks on August 28, 2026, when Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan worked outside China's Tiangong station, though totals can vary with how outings are counted.
The next step is close. Menon and Kutryk are scheduled to go out again on November 5 to unfurl the final IROSA, which would complete the station's power upgrade.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
This is USOS EVA 100, an incredible milestone that signifies how much has been done.— Anil Menon, NASA astronaut (paraphrased)
Möchten Sie die ganze Geschichte?
Das Original lesen bei collectSPACE.com ↗