NASA astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams, one of the two astronauts on an unintentionally extended stay aboard the International Space Station, now holds the record for total spacewalk time by a woman.
The record of 62 hours and six minutes was reached during her ninth spacewalk on Thursday, NASA announced.
Williams, who was selected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1998, and fellow NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore began their spacewalk early that morning. Their mission was to remove an antenna from the station’s truss segment, to prepare a motorized joint for a robotic arm, and to collect samples of surface material to see whether organisms might exist on the exterior of the orbital laboratory.
“Here we go,” Wilmore said, as he emerged 260 miles above Spain.
It was the fifth spacewalk for Wilmore, and the 274th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Williams and Wilmore have been on board the space station since June of last year after a mishap with their brand new Boeing Starliner capsule. The retired Navy captains had expected to only stay for a week.
The test pilots will remain in space until SpaceX can take them home. But, that won’t happen until late March or early April.
Williams, who is from Needham, Massachusetts, surpassed a previous record set in 2017 by Peggy Whitson: 60 hours and 21 minutes. Whitson also holds the title for the most spacewalks by a woman. Whitson has gone on 10 and Williams has gone on nine.
After announcing her retirement from the agency in 2018, the Iowan will lead an international crew to the space station on an Axiom Space flight. The mission is slated to launch no sooner than spring of this year.
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio holds the single spaceflight record, at 371 days, while Whitson holds the cumulative record at 675.
With reporting from The Associated Press
