Astronaut Suni Williams Sets New Record on Spacewalk Outside ISS

NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore have been on the International Space Station since June, though they initially anticipated to remain for simply eight days. They’ll be again on Earth in late March. But as a result of their keep was prolonged, Williams set a brand new file on Thursday. She went on a 5 hour, 26 minute spacewalk with Wilmore, and with that stroll, surpassed the file set by a girl for time spent on spacewalks. According to Space.com, Williams now has 62 hours and 6 minutes of spacewalking, surpassing former astronaut Peggy Whitson, who had 60 hours and 21 minutes.On this most up-to-date spacewalk, the 2 labored to lastly take away a defective radio-communications unit, one which astronauts on two earlier spacewalks had been unable to take away.Williams beforehand teamed up with astronaut Nick Hague for a spacewalk on Jan. 16. On that spacewalk, Williams and Hague changed a charge gyro meeting that helps preserve the orientation of the orbital outpost, NASA stated. The astronauts additionally put in patches to cowl broken areas of sunshine filters on the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer X-ray telescope, changed a reflector system on one of many worldwide docking adapters, and checked entry areas and connector instruments that astronauts will use for future Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer upkeep. NASA astronaut Suni Williams is seen outdoors the International Space Station throughout the Jan. 16, 2025, spacewalk. NASATrump and Musk
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The astronauts are scheduled to return residence in March. But that may not be quick sufficient for President Donald Trump.”I have just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to ‘go get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, in response to NPR. “Good luck Elon!!!”The astronauts are removed from deserted. The delay was prompted as a result of NASA and Boeing engineers found points with the spacecraft that introduced the astronauts into house, and selected to return that car to Earth with no crew. And it is unclear what Musk might do, for the reason that two are already scheduled to fly residence on a capsule made by his firm, SpaceX, and that capsule is already docked on the ISS. So technically, the astronauts might go residence at any time, however that would go away the house station short-staffed and jeopardize initiatives, NPR says.The two astronauts say that whereas they miss their households, they’ve nonetheless received work to maintain them busy.”Eventually we wanna go home,” stated Williams in a latest information convention. “We left our families a little while ago, but we have a lot to do up here and we have to get that stuff done before we go.”February return is now MarchNot too long ago, NASA pushed again Williams and Wilmore’s return to Earth from February to late March.”NASA and SpaceX assessed various options for managing the next crewed handover, including using another Dragon spacecraft and manifest adjustments,” in response to a NASA press launch issued on Dec. 17. “After careful consideration, the team determined that launching Crew-10 in late March, following completion of the new Dragon spacecraft, was the best option for meeting NASA’s requirements and achieving space station objectives for 2025.The delay is so NASA and SpaceX teams can complete work on the mission’s new Dragon spacecraft. That new craft will launch four crew members to the ISS — commander Anne McClain, commander, pilot Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. Once the new crew is settled, Williams, Wilmore, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will return to Earth.But Williams and Wilmore aren’t complaining about their extended stay.”I like the whole lot about being up right here,” Williams said in early December. “Living in house is tremendous enjoyable.”The astronauts are keeping busy, with Williams and Wilmore assisting the other ISS residents in space botany studies and other research, according to NASA’s ISS blog. They have aided in more than 60 scientific studies in their nearly six months on board, the Washington Post reports.Here’s what you need to know about what the two astronauts are up to.Who are the astronauts?Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, are veteran astronauts and are both naval officers and former test pilots. Williams has been a NASA astronaut since 1998, and Wilmore since 2000. Both have plenty of experience in space.Williams is the former record holder for most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes), and in 2007, she ran the first marathon by any person in space.In 2009, Wilmore piloted the Space Shuttle Atlantis on its mission to the ISS, and in 2014, he was part of the ISS crew that used a 3D printer to manufacture a tool — a ratchet wrench — in space, the first time humans manufactured something off-world.What was their original mission in space?Wilmore, as commander, and Williams, as pilot, traveled to the ISS on a 15-foot-wide, Boeing-made capsule called Starliner. They launched on June 5 and docked with the ISS on June 6. NASA hopes Starliner will give the organization a new way to get crews to and from the ISS, and the fact that it’s Boeing-made is another sign that NASA is starting to lean on the private sector for its human spaceflight options, The New York Times reported.Wilmore and Williams’ ISS mission was supposed to last a mere eight days, during which they’d test out aspects of Starliner and see how it operates with a human crew in space. But due to complications with Starliner, the two astronauts are still up there.What are the astronauts saying?The astronauts have been positive about their experience. At a live news conference in September, Williams said that despite knowing their mission was scheduled to take only eight days, they’d both been “coaching for quite a lot of years” for it. They’re fully qualified to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to help pilot the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that’ll bring them home next year.”It’s very peaceable up right here,” Williams said on Sept. 13, though she added that they miss their families back on Earth.The astronauts are working on research, maintenance and data analysis during their extended stay.”We are having a good time right here on ISS,” Williams said in a news conference held from orbit in July. “I’m not complaining. Butch is not complaining that we’re up right here for a few further weeks.” Wilmore and Williams responding to media questions again in March. Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers/Getty ImagesHow did they get caught in house within the first place?The Starliner was delayed in May on account of an issue with a valve within the rocket. Then engineers needed to repair a helium leak. That’s all dangerous information for Boeing. It’s competing with SpaceX, which has been transporting astronauts to the ISS since 2020, making over 20 profitable journeys to the house station. Starliner lastly launched, atop an Atlas V rocket, on June 5, however some issues got here together with it. NASA introduced that three helium leaks had been recognized, one in every of which was identified earlier than flight, and two new ones. In addition to the leaks, the crew needed to troubleshoot failed management thrusters, although the craft was capable of efficiently dock with the ISS.  SpaceX has had failures too. A Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launchpad in 2016. In July of this 12 months, a Falcon 9 rocket skilled a liquid oxygen leak and deployed its satellites within the fallacious orbit, The New York Times reported. And a Falcon 9 rocket in late August misplaced a first-stage booster when it toppled over into the Atlantic Ocean and caught fireplace.But that stated, SpaceX has greater than 300 profitable Falcon 9 flights to its credit score. Stuck in house: A timelineMay: Starliner launch delayed on account of an issue with a valve within the rocket, after which a helium leak.June 5: Starliner launches with Williams and Wilmore on board.June 6: Starliner docks with ISS regardless of coping with three helium leaks and failed management thrusters.Sept. 6: Starliner departs ISS and lands in New Mexico, leaving Williams and Wilmore behind.Sept. 28: SpaceX Crew-9 mission launches with Hague and Gorbunov on a Dragon spacecraft.Sept. 29: SpaceX Dragon docks with ISS.Dec. 17: NASA publicizes the launch of 4 crew members to the ISS will probably be delayed from February to late March.March 2025 onward: SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will return to Earth with Williams, Wilmore, Hague and Gorbunov.