ISS spacewalks prepare station for future deorbit
The ISS Is Entering Its Maintenance-and-Departure Chapter
NASA is planning three U.S. spacewalks aboard the International Space Station in August 2026: August 6, August 13, and August 25. The work is practical rather than dramatic, which is often what keeps a spacecraft useful for another day, another experiment, another crew.
What the astronauts will be doing The first spacewalk is scheduled to upgrade parts of the station’s solar-array systems. Later excursions will replace a communications antenna and connect power and data systems. Some of that work also supports the station’s eventual controlled deorbit, so the same orbiting laboratory is being maintained while preparations quietly begin for its final chapter.
A useful reminder from the ground The ISS is one of the few spacecraft beginners can regularly see without a telescope. From Tucson, a bright pass can cross the sky in only a few minutes. It usually looks like a steady, fast-moving point, not a tiny station with visible modules. Check the time and direction shortly before observing, because a pass that is excellent from one neighborhood may be hidden by trees or arrive before the sky is fully dark in another.
Why the ordinary details matter Solar power, communications, data connections, and safe disposal are not glamorous subjects, but they are the infrastructure behind the science we celebrate. This is also a good example of how spaceflight has to be managed across decades. A station can be an active laboratory, a maintenance project, and a future deorbit obligation all at once.
NASA’s advisory lays out the schedule and planned coverage: a worthwhile read before the August passes begin.