Astronaut marks 100th US spacewalk on International Space Station

By Dean Murray

Incredible scenes show astronauts during the latest spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS).

Shots include NASA’s Anil Menon seemingly hanging upside down in the vacuum of space, as well as a “space selfie” by the Expedition 75 flight engineer.

Menon participated in a spacewalk with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk to install a new roll-out solar array on the ISS’ port-side truss structure.

The pair spent seven hours and 11 minutes working outside the orbiting laboratory, attaching the array before releasing its tension bolts and allowing it to unfurl on its own in around 10 minutes.

Menon was seen riding the Canadarm2 robotic arm as he carried the rolled-up solar array to its installation site, while Kutryk made his way along the station’s truss structure, tethered to the ISS.

The new array is the seventh roll-out solar array installed on the station and is designed to boost its power-generating capacity as NASA prepares for the ISS’ eventual safe and controlled deorbit.

The spacewalk marked the 100th US spacewalk carried out from the International Space Station.

Menon posted on X on Oct. 30: “Can confirm. It’s always sunny in space. Yesterday, we completed USOS EVA 100 and installed a new solar array on space station. Over 25 years operating in the harshest environment and using the sun’s energy to do it!”