NASA Astronauts To Carry Out Two Spacewalks To Upgrade ISS Power System

NASA astronauts are preparing for two spacewalks outside the International Space Station (ISS) to help upgrade the orbiting laboratory's power system. The first spacewalk, known as US spacewalk 94, is scheduled for 18 March. During the operation, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christopher Williams will exit the station through the Quest airlock and prepare the station's 2A power channel for the installation of new roll-out solar arrays. The work will support the future deployment of the International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (IROSA), which are designed to boost the station's power generation capability. 

For Meir, the mission will mark her fourth spacewalk, while it will be the first spacewalk for Williams. The astronauts are expected to spend around six and a half hours outside the station installing modification hardware and routing cables needed for the new solar arrays. 

A second spacewalk, US spacewalk 95, will focus on preparing the station's 3B power channel for another future solar array installation. NASA has said further details, including the crew members and exact timing of the operation, will be announced closer to the date. 

The upcoming missions will be the 278th and 279th spacewalks conducted in support of assembling, maintaining and upgrading the ISS. They will also be the first station spacewalks of 2026 and the first during the current Expedition 74 mission aboard the orbital laboratory. 

Originally planned for January, the spacewalks were delayed after the early departure of SpaceX Crew-11, leading NASA to adjust the schedule. The agency will preview the upcoming operations during a media briefing at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, which will also be streamed online. 

The solar array upgrades are part of a long-term effort to modernise the space station's power system and extend its operational capabilities as astronauts continue scientific research in orbit.