Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk is scheduled to leave the International Space Station on Thursday for his second spacewalk in as many weeks, according to The Globe and Mail. He and NASA astronaut Anil Menon will fit the eighth and final new solar array onto the starboard side of the station's truss, the long structure that forms the outpost's backbone.
The pair completed the first seven arrays during a spacewalk on Oct. 29. That outing made Kutryk the fifth Canadian to walk in space, The Globe and Mail reports.
Why it matters
The arrays are part of an effort to raise the station's power capacity, and Thursday's work is meant to finish the job. The Globe and Mail reports that the upgrade requires eight new arrays in total, with Kutryk and Menon having installed all but one on their previous spacewalk.
The Canadian Space Agency describes spacewalks as among the hardest and most hazardous activities astronauts undertake, though they remain necessary for installing equipment, making repairs and doing hands-on work outside the station, according to The Globe and Mail.
Kutryk's milestone also marks a return to spacewalking for Canada after a gap of several years. Before him, the most recent Canadian to perform one was David Saint-Jacques in 2019, The Globe and Mail reports.
A crewed mission of about six months
Kutryk reached the station on Oct. 1 as part of SpaceX Crew-13, and the mission is expected to run for roughly six months, according to The Globe and Mail.
Thursday's spacewalk is the second for Kutryk in a short span, an unusually tight turnaround for a task the Canadian Space Agency classes among the most demanding in spaceflight. The work on Oct. 29 paired him with Menon, and the same two astronauts are assigned to the final installation.
The station's truss carries the solar arrays and other equipment, and the starboard side is where the last of the new panels is to go.
What to watch: whether the eighth array is installed as planned and how the Canadian Space Agency describes the outcome of Kutryk's second excursion.
