CAPE CANAVERAL,Fla (AP)– NASA’s two stuck astronauts took their very first spacewalk with one another Thursday, leaving the International Space Station practically 8 months after relocating.
Commander Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore removed a busted antenna and cleaned the terminal’s outdoors for proof of any sort of germs which will nonetheless reside after introducing from Earth and operating away by way of vents.
After some first problem unlocking the cussed antenna, the astronauts in the end tore it off nearly 4 hours after bulging the hatch. Mission Control prompted them to search for any sort of drifting parts from the antenna elimination.
During the work 260 miles (420 kilometers) up, Williams established a brand-new spacewalking doc for girls astronauts.
The set anticipated to stay merely every week once theyarrived at the space station last June But their new journey, Boeing’s Starliner capsule, got here throughout lots problem that NASA selected to return it vacant.
That left each examination pilots, each retired Navy captains, in orbit until Space X can deliver them dwelling. That won’t happen until late March or very early April, increasing their purpose to 10 months on account of a Space X hold-up in introducing their substitutes.
Williams carried out a spacewalk 2 weeks in the past with yet another NASA astronaut. It important Wilmore’s very first time outdoors this journey. Both acquired spacewalks all through earlier spaceport station stays.
With 9 spacewalks, Williams established a brand-new doc for women: probably the most time invested spacewalking over an occupation. Retired astronaut Peggy Whitson held the outdated doc of 60 hours and 21 minutes, constructed up over 10 spacewalks.
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Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press