The amateur photographer on Earth took a very rare photo of “bound” NASA astronaut Suni Williams floating outside the International Space Station (ISS) as he passed overhead. The image was taken on a recent spacecraft when Williams broke the record of most independent time spent by female astronauts on the spacecraft.
Charleingiroux, a biochemist and astrophotography enthusiast at the University of Oxford in the UK, used a small telescope on January 30 when the ISS passed through Oxfordshire at an altitude of about 250 miles (410 km). I took an impressive photo. The space station was driving at approximately 17,500 mph (28,000 km/h), so shooting required extreme accuracy.
“We were very fortunate to capture this event under a clear sky with our home town telescope. It was a great moment,” Giroud told Spaceweather.com.
At the time, ISS Commander Sunita “Sni” Williams was taking on the fifth career outer space or exhaust activity (EVA) to remove the abolition portion of the station. Following this excursion, Williams now floats in a total of 62 hours and six minutes of space, overtaking retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, and according to Live Science’s sister site, he spent the most discontinued time. He became a female astronaut during his space flight. Space.com. (Whitson still holds records of most individual spacecraft by six Evas and female astronauts.)
In the photo, Williams is named Canadarm-2, which appears as a small white mass attached to the edge of the robot arm, and looks like a golden line near the center of the station (see below).
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In addition to breaking the impressive EVA record, Williams was “also the first female astronaut to be photographed from the ground between the spacecraft,” Giroud said. “Congratulations Suni!”
NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Willmore was stuck on the ISS with Williams for seven months, lasting five hours and 26 minutes. However, Giroud said he was working in the shadow of the airlock as the space station passed through the UK and was not visible in the photos.
I’ve been left behind in space
Williams and Wilmore have been participating in the ISS since June 6, 2024. They were originally scheduled to remain in space for about a week. However, they were stuck when Boeing Starliner capsules that delivered them to the station experienced multiple leaks and temporarily kicked out the fees. The astronaut pair is now able to get them in orbit for more than 300 days in total.
The broken Starliner capsule eventually returned to Earth in September, and successfully landed in New Mexico on re-entry, leading to speculation that astronauts could have safely moved onto the spacecraft inside the ship. Ta. However, their safety risks were considered too great at the time.
The pair of astronauts then pushed back the return date several times due to logistical challenges. Recently, December was pushed back to some point in late March.
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Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has made it a priority to bring Williams and Wilmore back to Earth, and has ordered Elon Musk to return the pair in Space Sex Capsules before the proposed March return date. “It’s not true,” Space.com recently reported. However, it is currently unclear how this will occur.
The new urgency of their return may have been driven by recent tabloid rumors that Williams’ health had deteriorated significantly during his stay at the ISS. However, these unfounded stories were countered by Williams. Williams only experienced minor health effects expected of astronauts who would go on a long stay in space.
This is also not the first time NASA astronauts have endured an extended mission in space. In 2023, NASA’s Frank Rubio completed his 371-day space stay in space after the Russian soy capsule he was traveling with was damaged by a rebellious space junk.
