Planned ISS Spacewalk: Two Astronauts Expected to Work 6.5 Hours in Space

Toulouse – 30.06.2026: Two crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) are scheduled to exit for a roughly six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk (EVA) today to perform work on the station’s exterior structure. The operation is considered a routine mission with extensive preparation and clearly defined safety standards, but it remains physically demanding and technically challenging.

According to experts, EVAs are only scheduled when repairs, maintenance or installations cannot be accomplished by the robotic arm or from inside the station. Benjamin Peter, responsible for spaceflight news at the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse, describes such excursions as the result of months of preparation: tools are pre-configured, procedures are rehearsed in ground simulations, and the crew trains standardized movement sequences. Even before the hatch opens there are suit checks, leak tests and securing with tether lines; in parallel, mission control coordinates the use of the robotic arm, which supports the astronauts as a work platform or holds components in position.

The course of an EVA is broken down into individual steps that include time buffers and emergency procedures. Typical tasks range from replacing external modules and radiators to routing cables for experiments and communication systems. Mission control — primarily in Houston for the NASA and in European centers for the ESA — continuously monitors telemetry such as suit pressure, CO2 levels and the life support energy budget. If deviations occur, the order of tasks can be adjusted or the spacewalk may be aborted. Comparable missions in the past have typically lasted six to seven hours; extended phases often result from stubborn fastenings or the need for additional inspections.

Physically, a spacewalk is strenuous despite weightlessness: the rigid suits require strong gripping and twisting motions, and prolonged work strains the forearms and shoulders. Added to this is the mental strain from tightly scheduled tasks, radio traffic with multiple control teams and navigation on the station’s exterior. Medical monitoring accompanies the operation in real time; drinking bags and nutrient gels in the suit ensure sustenance.

For the public, the Cité de l’Espace assesses the practical benefits of such operations: they keep the station operational, protect scientific equipment and create capacity for new experiments. Visual observations from Earth are possible but depend on overflight time, brightness and weather; the actual work is best followed via live streams from the space agencies. Today’s EVA is therefore a tightly managed routine operation with increased logistical effort — planned, redundantly secured and internationally coordinated.