# Are NASA's August Spacewalks About Keeping the ISS Alive or Shutting It Down?

Three back-to-back extravehicular activities scheduled for August reveal the ISS in a paradoxical operational moment: NASA is simultaneously installing hardware to expand power capacity and running cable work explicitly tied to the station's future controlled [deorbit](https://orbital-intel.com/glossary/deorbit). The first of the three EVAs — U.S. spacewalk 96 — is scheduled to begin at 8:35 a.m. EDT on Thursday, August 6, with Jessica Meir and Anil Menon exiting the Quest airlock to modify the station's 3B power channel. That modification prepares the channel for a seventh International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA), targeted for delivery later this year. The three EVAs will be the 281st, 282nd, and 283rd in support of ISS assembly, maintenance, and upgrades — a cumulative milestone that underscores how heavily the station depends on continuous outside maintenance to remain operational. A preview news conference is set for 2 p.m. EDT on July 30, from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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## What U.S. Spacewalk 96 Actually Accomplishes

Meir and Menon's August 6 EVA has a specific, two-part objective: install hardware that modifies the 3B power channel, then leave that channel configured to accept the seventh IROSA. NASA's coverage begins at 7 a.m. EDT, with the spacewalk itself starting at 8:35 a.m. and expected to run approximately six and a half hours.

This will be Meir's sixth spacewalk and Menon's first. Per NASA's standard identification protocol, Meir wears a suit with red stripes as spacewalk crew member 1; Menon wears an unmarked suit as crew member 2.

The IROSA program is worth watching closely for anyone tracking [Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD)](https://orbital-intel.com/glossary/commercial-leo-destinations) timelines. Each IROSA panel added to ISS extends the station's usable power budget, which directly supports the research and operational capacity that commercial station developers are benchmarking against. A seventh IROSA, once installed, will provide additional power to "support critical station operations, including its safe and controlled deorbit" — NASA's own language making explicit that power augmentation and end-of-life planning are now concurrent activities.

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## EVAs 97 and 98: Antenna and Deorbit Prep

NASA has not yet published crew assignments or precise timing for U.S. spacewalks 97 and 98, but the task manifests are defined.

**U.S. Spacewalk 97** centers on replacing a Space-to-Ground antenna — the communication link NASA uses to transmit data and high-speed communications between Mission Control in Houston and the station. Antenna health is not a minor operational concern; a degraded Space-to-Ground link directly affects the bandwidth available for payload science downlink and crew safety communications.

**U.S. Spacewalk 98** involves connecting power channel cables and data relay systems as part of "ongoing maintenance, including preparations for the space station's future deorbit." The crew will also replace a navigational aid used for spacecraft docking on the Harmony module's forward port — hardware relevant to any vehicle approaching that berthing location.

The explicit deorbit language in EVA 98's task description is analytically significant. NASA has been quietly threading deorbit infrastructure work into routine maintenance manifests for several EVA cycles. That pattern signals the agency is actively managing the engineering prerequisites for a controlled reentry rather than treating deorbit as a distant planning exercise.

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## The Seventh IROSA in Strategic Context

The IROSA program has been incrementally expanding ISS power capacity since the first panels were delivered and installed several years ago. The seventh panel, slated for delivery later this year, continues that progression.

For commercial operators and defense customers who rely on ISS-hosted payloads, power budget is a direct constraint on what instruments can run simultaneously and at what duty cycle. Each additional IROSA expands that envelope. However, analysts should weigh this against the deorbit timeline: adding power capacity to a platform that is simultaneously being wired for controlled reentry raises legitimate questions about how much of that new capacity will actually be utilized before end-of-life.

NASA has not publicly specified the ISS deorbit target date in this advisory. The commercial station transition — led by efforts from companies including [Axiom Space](https://orbital-intel.com/companies/axiom-space) and [Vast](https://orbital-intel.com/companies/vast) — remains the intended successor architecture for [Low Earth Orbit (LEO)](https://orbital-intel.com/glossary/leo) human presence. The pace of deorbit infrastructure work visible in EVA 98's manifest will be a useful indicator of how those timelines are actually progressing.

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## What to Watch at the July 30 News Conference

The July 30 briefing at 2 p.m. EDT from Johnson Space Center is the practical venue to extract specifics NASA hasn't published yet: crew assignments for EVAs 97 and 98, precise scheduling windows, and any updated rationale for the 3B power channel modification design. Media with in-person access must contact the JSC newsroom by 3 p.m. EDT on July 29 at [email protected]; phone participants must request dial-in details by the same deadline.

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## Key Takeaways

- **Three U.S. EVAs are manifested for August**, numbered 281, 282, and 283 in the cumulative ISS EVA count.
- **EVA 96 begins at 8:35 a.m. EDT on August 6**, with Meir (6th EVA) and Menon (1st EVA) targeting the 3B power channel for IROSA-7 preparation; expected duration is approximately six and a half hours.
- **A seventh IROSA** is targeted for delivery later in 2026; NASA explicitly links it to supporting safe, controlled deorbit operations.
- **EVA 98 includes deorbit-specific cable work** — the clearest public signal yet that end-of-life infrastructure preparation is now an active EVA priority.
- **EVA 97 replaces a Space-to-Ground antenna**, with direct implications for ISS communications bandwidth and hosted payload operations.
- **Crew assignments and timing for EVAs 97 and 98 are not yet public**; the July 30 news conference is the earliest opportunity for those details.

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## Frequently Asked Questions

**When is NASA's next ISS spacewalk in 2026?**
U.S. spacewalk 96 is scheduled to begin at 8:35 a.m. EDT on Thursday, August 6, 2026. NASA's live coverage starts at 7 a.m. EDT. It will be conducted by astronauts Jessica Meir and Anil Menon exiting the Quest airlock.

**What is an IROSA and why does ISS need a seventh one?**
IROSA stands for International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array. These deployable panels supplement the station's original power infrastructure. NASA is preparing for a seventh IROSA, to be delivered later in 2026, to provide additional power for critical operations including the station's future controlled deorbit.

**Are the August 2026 EVAs related to ISS deorbit planning?**
Yes, explicitly. EVA 98 involves connecting power channel cables and data relay systems specifically described by NASA as "preparations for the space station's future deorbit," alongside replacement of a docking navigational aid on the Harmony module's forward port.

**Who are Jessica Meir and Anil Menon?**
Both are NASA astronauts assigned to EVA 96. For Meir, it will be her sixth spacewalk; for Menon, it will be his first. Meir will wear a suit with red stripes as crew member 1; Menon will wear an unmarked suit as crew member 2.

**How many total spacewalks has ISS accumulated?**
The three August EVAs will be the 281st, 282nd, and 283rd conducted in support of ISS assembly, maintenance, and upgrades, according to NASA's advisory.