NASA's 2 stuck astronauts take their first spacewalk together

The pair expected to stay just a week when they arrived at the space station last June. But their brand new ride, Boeing's Starliner capsule, encountered so much trouble that NASA decided to return it empty.

The pair expected to stay just a week when they arrived at the space station last June. But their brand new ride, Boeing's Starliner capsule, encountered so much trouble that NASA decided to return it empty.

This is the 274th spacewalk in support of International Space Station's assembly maintenance and upgrades. Depressurization was completed. The hatch is open, and the suits are on battery power. This is also the 2nd spacewalk of the year and the 3rd spacewalk for Expedition 72. There it goes. OK. At the 3 hour and 50 minute mark of today's spacewalk, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams successfully removed the radio frequency group off of the external stowage platform to of the International Space Station. Sonny Williams just broke *** record while completing the tasks on today's spacewalk. Holy moly, sorry. I'm ready to get in. Come on in. All right, let's try. Let's see if we can do it. This is the 274th spacewalk in support of International Space Station's assembly maintenance and upgrades. Depressurization was completed. The hatch is open, and the suits are on battery power. This is also the 2nd spacewalk of the year and the 3rd spacewalk for Expedition 72. There it goes. OK. At the 3 hour and 50 minute mark of today's spacewalk, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams successfully removed the radio frequency group off of the external stowage platform to of the International Space Station. Sonny Williams just broke *** record while completing the tasks on today's spacewalk. Holy moly, sorry. I'm ready to get in. Come on in. All right, let's try. Let's see if we can do it.

NASA's 2 stuck astronauts take their first spacewalk together

NASA's two stuck astronauts took their first spacewalk together Thursday, exiting the International Space Station almost eight months after moving in.See the spacewalk in the video aboveCommander Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore removed a broken antenna and wiped the station's exterior for evidence of any microbes that might still be alive after launching from Earth and escaping through vents.After some initial trouble unbolting the balky antenna, the astronauts finally pried it off nearly four hours after popping out the hatch. Mission Control urged them to watch for any floating parts from the antenna removal.During the job 260 miles up, Williams set a new spacewalking record for female astronauts.The pair expected to stay just a week when they arrived at the space station last June. But their brand new ride, Boeing's Starliner capsule, encountered so much trouble that NASA decided to return it empty.That left the two test pilots, both retired Navy captains, in orbit until SpaceX can bring them home. That won't happen until late March or early April, extending their mission to 10 months because of a SpaceX delay in launching their replacements.Williams performed a spacewalk two weeks ago with another NASA astronaut. It marked Wilmore's first time outside this trip. Both racked up spacewalks during previous space station stays.With nine spacewalks, Williams set a new record for women: the most time spent spacewalking over a career. Retired astronaut Peggy Whitson held the old record of 60 hours and 21 minutes, accumulated over 10 spacewalks.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) —

NASA's two stuck astronauts took their first spacewalk together Thursday, exiting the International Space Station almost eight months after moving in.

See the spacewalk in the video above

Commander Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore removed a broken antenna and wiped the station's exterior for evidence of any microbes that might still be alive after launching from Earth and escaping through vents.

After some initial trouble unbolting the balky antenna, the astronauts finally pried it off nearly four hours after popping out the hatch. Mission Control urged them to watch for any floating parts from the antenna removal.

During the job 260 miles up, Williams set a new spacewalking record for female astronauts.

In this image, made from NASA TV, US astronaut Suni Williams works outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/NASA TV)

AP Photo/NASA TV

U.S. astronaut Suni Williams works outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/NASA TV)

That left the two test pilots, both retired Navy captains, in orbit until SpaceX can bring them home. That won't happen until late March or early April, extending their mission to 10 months because of a SpaceX delay in launching their replacements.

Williams performed a spacewalk two weeks ago with another NASA astronaut. It marked Wilmore's first time outside this trip. Both racked up spacewalks during previous space station stays.

With nine spacewalks, Williams set a new record for women: the most time spent spacewalking over a career. Retired astronaut Peggy Whitson held the old record of 60 hours and 21 minutes, accumulated over 10 spacewalks.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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