One of Nasa‘s two struck astronauts, Sunita Williams, enjoyed a much needed change of scenery on Thursday, stepping out for her first spacewalk since arriving at the International Space Station over seven months ago. Indian-origin astronaut Williams, the station’s commander, joined Nasa’s Nick Hague to tackle overdue repair tasks outside the station.
Plans are in place for Williams to venture out again next week with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore.
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Williams and Wilmore had launched aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule last June on what was initially planned as a weeklong test mission. However, issues with the Starliner extended their stay, prompting Nasa to order the capsule’s return without passengers.
Further delays took place when SpaceX postponed the launch of their replacements, leaving Williams and Wilmore stranded until late March or early April—ten months after their launch.
This marked Nasa’s first spacewalk by its astronauts, since one was aborted last summer. US spacewalks were temporarily halted after a cooling loop issue caused water to leak into an astronaut’s suit airlock. Nasa has since resolved the issue.
For Williams, this was her eighth spacewalk, adding to her extensive experience, as she has previously lived aboard the space station.