Astronaut NASA Sunita Williams, who has been on the ISS for 7 months instead of eight days, set a new record for the total time in open space among women. This record was set when it, together with the NASA astronaut Barry Wilmor, who was stuck in orbit, went outside the International Space Station (ISS) on January 30. The two astronauts have finally managed to remove the faulty radio communications unit, which failed to make during past attempts, writes Space.
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We remind you that Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore has been on the ISS since the beginning of June last year, although initially their mission was designed for 8 days. Both NASA astronauts arrived in orbit on the Starliner spacecraft, which returned back to the ground without a crew due to the identified technical problems. It is expected that astronauts stuck in space will return home in February.
Williams and Wilmore went into outer space outside the ISS to remove the spacecraft that is unemployed for radio communications, which astronauts could not do twice in 2023. It also failed to do this in the summer of 2024.
But a couple of astronauts now succeeded, although it took more than 3 hours, although it was supposed that it would take less time. The astronauts failed to fulfill all the planned tasks just because of the lack of time. In total, NASA astronauts spent 5 hours in open space and 26 minutes. They delivered a faulty radio communications block to the ISS and it will be sent to the ground for repair.
At the same time, the astronauts managed to collect samples of microbial life that were outside the ISS to conduct research on how the conditions of space affect microorganisms.
Sunita Williams has already made 9 exit to the outer space during her career as an astronaut. Given the time of the last mission, now, in total, she spent 62 hours and 6 minutes in outdoor space. Thus, Williams set a new record of open space among women. The last record belonged to the NASA astronaut Peggy Witson, who, after going beyond the ISS in 2017, spent a total of 60 hours in open space and 21 minutes. But Williams failed to beat Wittson's record, because she remains the only woman-astronaut who made 10 outputs into outer space.
Now Williams takes fourth place in the world list of all outputs into outer space by the amount of time spent outside the ISS.
As for Wilmore, for him it was the fifth exit in outer space and thus his total time in open space is now 31 hours and 2 minutes.
As Focus already wrote, US President Donald Trump asked Ilon Mask, the owner of SpaceX, to return Home Williams and Wilmore.
Trump criticized former US President Joe Biden that he did not send a spacecraft earlier to save astronauts stuck in orbit in orbit. But in fact, just the ship of SpaceX should return this pair to Earth, as it has long been planned.
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