The 100th US spacewalk: two astronauts install a giant solar panel
American Anil Menon and Canadian Joshua Kutryk went outside the Space Station to install a new solar panel. It is the first spacewalk by a Canadian in seven years and the 100th from the station for the United States.
Translated from the original Spanish article. Read in Spanish
News published on October 29, 2026. The situation may have changed since then.
On Thursday, October 29, 2026, two astronauts went outside the International Space Station for a historic mission: the 100th US spacewalk.
Who they are
Anil Menon, a NASA astronaut, and Joshua Kutryk, of the Canadian Space Agency. For Kutryk it is his first spacewalk, and the first by a Canadian in seven years.
The International Space Station circles the Earth every 90 minutes, about 400 kilometers up.
What they went to do
To install a new solar panel of the kind that comes rolled up, like a rug, and unrolls once in place.
Menon traveled to the worksite on the Canadarm2 robotic arm, carrying the panel, while Kutryk made his own way there to join him. The spacewalk was planned to last about six and three-quarter hours.
What it's for
It is the seventh of eight new panels. When they are all in place, the station will go from about 160 to about 215 kilowatts of power, more energy for its experiments.
What comes next
There will be a second spacewalk with the same goal, no earlier than November 5.
For more space news, read [how the Artemis III mission is going](artemis-iii.html).
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Sources (in Spanish)
- Plan de la caminata y papeles de cada astronauta: NASA (28 de octubre de 2026).
- Primera caminata canadiense en siete años, potencia y segunda salida: Space.com y The Weather Network.
- Caminata número 100: CW39 y WCCF.
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses; the author and license are shown under each image.
