The ISS has three maintenance days that count

NASA scheduled three U.S. spacewalks for August to upgrade solar arrays, replace a communications antenna and connect power and data cables. Jessica Meir and Anil Menon are assigned to the first excursion on Aug. 6. None of this is glamorous; it is the work that keeps later station plans from being defeated by wiring. Spaceflight retains a mischievous dependence on functioning hardware.

Each claim is kept next to its source so the story never overstates what official evidence can actually prove.

A running record of what changed, when, and why. Published Jul 27, 2026.