United States: After more than seven months aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Suni Williams finally got a chance to stretch her legs—well, in space!
On Thursday, she stepped out on her first spacewalk, tackling much-needed repairs alongside fellow astronaut Nick Hague. Together, they ventured outside as the ISS also soared 260 miles above Turkmenistan, marking a thrilling moment in their ongoing mission.
Williams, the station’s commander, which had been eagerly awaiting this moment, with the spacewalk offering a much-needed change of scenery after months of all the routine operations inside the station. Their task: crucial repairs and maintenance to keep the ISS in top condition.
As they floated in the weightless vacuum of space, the astronauts performed delicate work while surrounded by breathtaking views of Earth below. With the ISS constantly hurtling through space at incredible speeds, every second counted—and every step outside felt like a small victory.
As reported by the Associate press, schedules drawn up propounded that next week Williams was to float back out with Butch Wilmore. Williams and Wilmore flew on Boeing’s new Starliner capsule in June on a test flight that was scheduled to last a week.
But problems with the Starliner capsule delayed their return even longer, and NASA instructed the capsule to return empty. Then SpaceX postponed the arrival of their replacements and thus the two will not be back home until March or April in the next year, ten months on the spacecraft.
It was the first spacewalk by NASA astronauts since an aborted one last summer. NASA spacewalks from the US were suspended when water was discovered in the airlock from the cooling circuit for an astronaut’s spacesuit. According to NASA, the issue has been resolved.
This was the eight spacewalks for Williams, who has previously lived on the space station during the mission.