Sunita Williams, one of two NASA astronauts stranded on the International Space Station, reached a new milestone Thursday by completing her first spacewalk since arriving seven months ago. Ta.
Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore’s return to Earth was delayed due to a technical error. The two were scheduled to arrive after a week-long mission in June 2024. The return is currently scheduled for late March or early April.
Williams, an accomplished astronaut who has performed numerous spacewalks during previous visits, teamed up with astronaut Nick Haig to perform maintenance on the ISS on Thursday.
They set out to replace the reflector on the International Docking Adapter and repair the patch light filter on the NICER X-ray telescope and the equipment that controls the station’s orientation.
They were to investigate connectivity tools and access points needed for future maintenance of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle physics test instrument aboard the ISS.
Meanwhile, NASA announced that Williams’ eighth, six-hour spacewalk of his career went smoothly and completed its mission. It was her first spacewalk in 12 years.
“I’m coming,” Williams radioed as he prepared for a low-Earth orbit mission.
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Sunita Williams performs second spacewalk with Wilmore
Williams will go on his second spacewalk with Wilmore on January 23rd. They will work together to retrieve the Radio Frequency Group Antenna Assembly, a set of parts used to transmit and receive radio waves and collect surface samples for microbial testing. .
Additionally, we plan to install a spare elbow joint on the Canadarm2 robot arm in an optimal location so that we can respond quickly in the unlikely event that repairs are required.
Last June, Williams and Wilmore set out aboard a Boeing Starliner capsule with the goal of completing a week-long test journey. However, technical problems with the Starliner capsule delayed its return to Earth. NASA ordered the capsule to be emptied and returned.
