Sunita Williams steps out for spacewalk after seven months in orbit

Nasa astronaut Sunita Williams, stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) for more than seven months, ventured outside for a spacewalk on Thursday.

She was joined by fellow astronaut Nick Hague to perform overdue maintenance tasks as the ISS orbited 260 miles (420 km) above Turkmenistan.

This marked Williams' first spacewalk since arriving at the ISS in June 2024.

Originally part of a week-long mission aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule with astronaut Butch Wilmore, their return to Earth was delayed due to technical issues with the spacecraft.

Nasa deemed the Starliner unsafe for return and decided to bring them back aboard SpaceX's vehicle in late March or early April.

Thursday’s spacewalk involved repairing equipment that governs station orientation, patching light filters on the NICER X-ray telescope, and replacing a reflector device on an international docking adapter

Williams and Hague also checked access areas and connector tools for future maintenance on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. The spacewalk lasted about six and a half hours.

A second spacewalk is scheduled for January 23, during which Williams and Wilmore will remove a radio frequency antenna assembly, collect surface samples for microorganism analysis, and prepare a backup elbow joint for the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Nicole McElroy, a flight director at Nasa, said, “The crew on board has been studying their procedures, getting familiar with all of the tasks, and are really excited and looking forward to going out the door.”

Despite extended delays, the astronauts have continued their work while awaiting their return.