Stranded NASA astronaut gets change of pace with spacewalk, after 7 months in orbit

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One of NASA’s two stuck astronauts got a much welcomed change of scenery Thursday, stepping out on her first spacewalk since arriving at the International Space Station more than seven months ago.   

Suni Williams, the station’s commander, tackled some overdue outdoor repair work, alongside colleague Nick Hague. They emerged as the orbiting lab sailed 420 kilometers above Turkmenistan.

“I’m coming out,” Williams radioed.

Williams got a close-up look at the SpaceX capsule that will bring her home this spring, floating just a few feet away from the parked vessel as she worked to replace a planar reflector on the outside of the space station. The process took diligence, but she eventually prevailed without damaging her ride.

Plans called for Williams to float back out next week with Butch Wilmore on another spacewalk. The two launched aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule last June on what should have been a weeklong test flight. But Starliner trouble dragged out their return, and NASA ordered the capsule to come back empty.

Then SpaceX delayed the launch of their replacements, meaning the two won’t be home until late March or early April — 10 months after launching.

A woman in a NASA spacesuit inside a space station gives the camera a thumbs up and a smile. She is seen from the waist up.
In this photo provided by NASA, astronaut Suni Williams tries on and evaluates her spacesuit aboard the ISS on Jan. 9. (NASA via The Associated Press)

Walking among the stars

It was the first spacewalk by NASA astronauts since an aborted one last summer. U.S. spacewalks were put on hold after water leaked into the airlock from the cooling loop for an astronaut’s suit. NASA said the problem has since been fixed.

WATCH | Astronauts Suni Williams and Nick Hague step out on a spacewalk: 

NASA astronauts go on spacewalk to complete repairs

Suni Williams, one of two astronauts who has been stuck on the International Space Station after a technical issue delayed a planned return to Earth, was performing outdoor repair work on Thursday along with astronaut Nick Hague.

This was the eighth spacewalk for Williams, who has lived on the space station before, and the fourth for Hague. 

Hague and Williams were set to replace station hardware and repair the station’s Neutron Star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) C-ray telescope. Part of that process includes placing wedge-shaped patches in certain spots on the telescope to reduce unwanted sunlight from interfering with the X-ray measurements it takes. 

An astronaut floats seemingly upside down, back at the top of the image, facing to the left. A bunch of equipment is behind them and the edges of the photo darken beyond the flashlight aimed at the astronaut.
In this image, made from NASA TV, Williams works outside the International Space Station on Thursday. It marked Williams’s eighth spacewalk. (NASA TV/The Associated Press)

The spacewalk, which started at 8 a.m. ET, will last around 6½ hours, and is the 273rd spacewalk for ISS maintenance.


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