NASA Astronaut Finally Steps Outside for Spacewalk After Seven Months in Orbit

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — After spending more than seven months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronaut Suni Williams finally stepped outside Thursday for a long-overdue spacewa

Williams, the station’s commander, joined fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague to carry out essential exterior maintenance tasks as the ISS orbited 260 miles (420 kilometers) above Turkmenistan.

During the spacewalk, Williams got an up-close view of the SpaceX capsule that is set to bring her back to Earth this spring. At one point, she floated just a few feet from the docked spacecraft while working through a challenging repair job. Despite some initial difficulty, she successfully completed the task without damaging the vessel.

NASA has scheduled another spacewalk for next week, during which Williams will partner with astronaut Butch Wilmore. The two launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule last June for what was supposed to be a brief test mission. However, technical issues with the Starliner extended their stay indefinitely, and NASA eventually decided to return the capsule empty. Further delays caused by SpaceX’s postponed crew launch mean Williams and Wilmore won’t return home until late March or early April—marking nearly ten months in orbit.

Thursday’s mission marked the first spacewalk by NASA astronauts since last summer when a planned excursion was canceled due to water leakage inside an astronaut’s spacesuit airlock. NASA has since resolved the issue, allowing spacewalks to resume.

For Williams, this was her eighth career spacewalk. A veteran astronaut, she has previously spent significant time aboard the space station.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group, as well as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. However, all editorial content is produced independently by the AP.