Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, a daily news publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.
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'We have left the Earth, but the Earth has not left us.'International Space StationNASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Chris Williams prepare the International Space Station for the addition a new solar array during a spacewalk on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsSign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books.Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!Space.com's Sci-Fi Reader's Club. Read a sci-fi short story every month and join a virtual community of fellow science fiction fans!Two NASA astronauts prepared the International Space Station for the addition of a new solar array on the first U.S. spacewalk in almost a year. Expedition 74 crewmates Jessica Meir and Chris Williams ventured outside of the space station's Quest airlock at 8:52 a.m. EDT on Wednesday to install a mount for an advanced power-producing solar panel. The pair worked on the left side of the space station's backbone truss, where they first assembled and then attached the bracket structure that will support an ISS Roll-Out Array , to be installed on a future Once unfurled, it will be the seventh of eight rollout arrays to be deployed since the upgrades began in 2021. The iROSA assemblies are smaller than the legacy four solar wings on the U.S. segment of the. They also require no motor to unfurl to their 63-foot full length. The potential energy held by the rolled-up carbon composite booms is enough to unroll the panel in about six minutes.NASA postpones Jan. 8 spacewalk due to 'medical concern' with an astronautThe view from NASA astronaut Chris Williams' spacesuit helmet-mounted camera shows the gears for one of the International Space Station's rotating solar array wings during a spacewalk on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.The space station's original solar arrays have degraded, having exceeded their 15-year service life. When all of them are in place, the new iROSAs will increase the orbiting lab's electricity supply by 20% to 30%. The use on ISS also paved the way for NASA to use the technology for deep-space missions, including the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (by changing the orbit of a small asteroid in 2022. NASA has also been planning to use roll-out solar arrays on its Gateway moon-orbiting space station, but it looks like that outpost may be canceled. The additional power on the ISS will help support expanded commercial activities and the upcoming transition from the ISS to After completing work on the iROSA modification kit about five hours into the EVA, Williams moved over to photo-document the gears for the port-side SARJ, or solar array rotating joint, that allows the attached wings to track. Meir concurrently worked on installing an electrical jumper to enable robotic servicing of the components that comprise the 2A power channel.Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors Meir and Williams then cleaned up their respective work areas and stowed equipment they had used before reentering the Quest airlock. Citing the limited time remaining — the spacewalk had been planned to last about 6.5 hours — EVA managers in Mission Control deferred the planned swabbing for microorganisms on the exterior of the space station and the installation of a lens cover on a camera on the Canadarm2 robotic arm for a future outing. Neither of the two tasks was considered mission critical.'We can handle any kind of difficult situation': Crew-11 astronauts say 1st medical evacuation from ISS had a silver liningNASA had originally scheduled for the iROSA kit to be installed during an EVA in May 2025, but it was postponed in favor of relocating an antenna. NASA next planned for the same task to be accomplished during a spacewalk in January, but one of the then-assigned spacewalkers,This was Williams' first spacewalk and Meir's fourth. She has now logged 28 hours and 46 minutes working outside in the vacuum of space, including being a part of the world's "Today, March 18, is exactly 61 years since Alexei Leonov became the very first human to step out boldly into the vacuum and blackness of space. Our international efforts in space exploration have evolved considerably since then, but the enormity of venturing outside the hatch in your own mini-spacecraft remains," said Meir after closing the hatch. "I can report that my fourth spacewalk feels even more special than my previous ones. That is because I shared the experience with first-time spacewalker Chris Williams. It is a tremendous experience to pass the torch to the next generation of explorers who will keep this space station running," she said., a perspective one gains from the privilege of looking down on Earth from above like we did today. Like grains of sand, at least we are here drifting together. The view is always better when you are sharing it with a friend," concluded Meir. Wednesday's spacewalk was the 278th EVA in support of the assembly, maintenance and upgrade of the International Space Station, totaling 1,760 hours and 28 minutes. It was also the first ISS spacewalk of 2026, the first by Expedition 74, and the first by American astronauts since, a daily news publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of"Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018. In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History. In 2023, the National Space Club Florida Committee recognized Pearlman with the Kolcum News and Communications Award for excellence in telling the space story along the Space Coast and throughout the world.International Space Station'We can handle any kind of difficult situation': Crew-11 astronauts say 1st medical evacuation from ISS had a silver liningLaunches & SpacecraftMissed Star Trek: Starfleet Academy or just want to binge-watch again? Get this Ferengi-approved Paramount Plus streaming deal, 79% cheaper for two months
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