NASA said it will preview two planned spacewalks to finish solar array installation and power augmentation at the International Space Station during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Oct. 20, from Johnson Space Center in Houston. Participants include Gaurang Patel, operations integration manager for the Low Earth Orbit Program, and Garrett Hehn, spacewalk flight director in the Flight Operations Directorate.

During U.S. spacewalk 100, planned for Thursday, Oct. 29, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and CSA astronaut Joshua Kutryk are to exit the Quest airlock to install and deploy an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array on the 2A electrical power channel. The array would be the seventh IROSA. During spacewalk 101, planned for Thursday, Nov. 5, the pair are to install and deploy the eighth and final IROSA on the 3B channel, completing the power augmentation upgrades.

According to NASA, the eight roll-out arrays together will increase available power by up to 30%, raising generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts. The two spacewalks would be the 285th and 286th conducted in support of station assembly, maintenance and upgrades. NASA said further coverage details will be shared closer to each operation.