According to NASA, astronauts Anil Menon and Sophie Adenot are conducting a spacewalk outside the International Space Station to replace a critical high-speed communication relay. The extravehicular activity, lasting approximately six and a half hours, gives the European Space Agency’s first female spacewalker her second historic outing of the month.
Spacewalk Logistics and Live Coverage Details
According to NASA, the extravehicular activity is scheduled to begin around 8:35 a.m. EDT. Live coverage streams on Space.com and directly through the space agency starting at 7:00 a.m. EDT. Menon and Adenot exit from the station’s Quest airlock to complete repair work started during an earlier excursion.
Pro Tip: Viewers can follow official updates on the space station blog or track mission milestones via @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and Instagram accounts, according to NASA.
Completing the Antenna Replacement
According to NASA, this mission marks the third spacewalk for Menon and the second for Adenot. During an excursion on August 18, Adenot made history as the first French woman to conduct an extravehicular activity. In that outing, Adenot and Menon successfully removed a failed space-to-ground antenna, which serves as a relay link enabling high-speed communications between the station and Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The duo ran out of time before they could install the replacement unit, leaving today’s window critical for finishing the job, according to NASA. If time allows, the crew will also tackle a get-ahead task to replace a retroreflector on the Harmony module’s forward port to improve navigation data for visiting spacecraft.
Crew Backgrounds and Station Milestones
According to NASA, Adenot arrived at the orbital complex in February aboard SpaceX’s Crew-12 mission alongside NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Menon joined the station on July 14 via a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. Menon previously performed a spacewalk on August 6 with Meir.
For today’s operations, Menon serves as crewmember 1 and wears a suit featuring red stripes, while Adenot acts as crewmember 2 in an unmarked suit, according to NASA. This undertaking marks the 283rd spacewalk dedicated to station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades since the orbiting laboratory was continuously occupied beginning in November 2000.
Did you know? The International Space Station has maintained a continuous human presence for nearly a quarter of a century, supported by hundreds of maintenance spacewalks.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the spacewalk start?
According to NASA, the extravehicular activity is expected to begin around 8:35 a.m. EDT, with live broadcasts starting at 7:00 a.m. EDT.
What is the primary objective of the spacewalk?
According to NASA, the main goal is to install a replacement space-to-ground antenna to restore high-speed data links with Mission Control in Houston.
Who is performing the spacewalk?
According to NASA, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot are conducting the repairs outside the Quest airlock.
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