After more than seven months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA Astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams finally stepped out for her first spacewalk on the ISS, a milestone in what was meant to be a short mission.
Williams, who had been expected to return to Earth much sooner, completed the outdoor repairs alongside astronaut Nick Hague, as seen in a live video posted to X by NASA.
Williams and Hague stepped out into the vacuum of space as the ISS cruised 260 miles above Turkmenistan. “I’m coming out,” Williams radioed to mission control, signaling the beginning of a much-anticipated spacewalk.
The spacewalk had been postponed due to complications with the spacecraft that was supposed to bring Williams and Astronaut Butch Wilmore home long ago.
The duo’s mission, launched in June 2024 aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule, was first planned as a weeklong test flight, reported AP. However, a series of technical delays forced an extension of their stay in space.
Problems with the Starliner spacecraft, followed by a delayed SpaceX launch for their replacements, meant the astronauts would remain in space for up to ten months, far longer than the trip they had signed up for.
NASA recently had to cancel their return flight aboard the Starliner, sending the capsule back to Earth without passengers. The cancellation means Williams and Wilmore are expected to remain at the station until at least March this year.
This spacewalk is significant not only because of the extended time Williams has spent in space but also due to the unprecedented nature of the mission itself. NASA had initially planned to use this mission to test Boeing’s Starliner capsule as a potential replacement for the SpaceX Crew Dragon, but the delays have added new problems to the project.
This was Williams’ eighth spacewalk and the first since she arrived at the ISS, according to WFAA.
NASA postponed all spacewalks last summer after an alarming incident in which a leak in an astronaut’s spacesuit was traced back to the suit’s cooling system. After the problem was solved, spacewalks resumed, with this mission marking the first since the recent suspension.
Astronauts Williams and Wilmore have both seemingly remained committed to the ISS and its mission until their eventual return to Earth, planned for later this year.