US, Japanese astronauts complete spacewalk necessary for installation of solar panels

NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata completed the spacewalk they carried out Thursday in order to prepared for the installation of iROSA solar panels on the International Space Station.

The spacewalk began at 07:45 Eastern Time and ended at 14:26. Wakate and Mann successfully performed all operations necessary for installation of the solar panels.

This event has become the 259th spacewalk, carried out from aboard the ISS.

Earlier, NASA noted that the existing ISS solar panels operate normally, but show signs of wear: some panels were installed back in 2000. Currently, NASA plans to deploy six iROSA panels, weighing almost 340 kg each, which will make it possible to increase the station’s power capacity from 160 kW to 216 kW. Two panels were installed in June, 2021. The third and the fourth were installed in late December, 2022. The fifth and the sixth ones are expected to be delivered aboard a Cargo Dragon spacecraft this year.