During 92nd US Spacewalk, Sunita Williams breaks spacewalking record

Washington: On January 30, 2025, NASA astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams made history by surpassing Peggy Whitson’s record for the longest total spacewalking duration by a female astronaut. Williams broke Whitson’s previous record of 60 hours and 21 minutes during a spacewalk conducted as part of Expedition 72 aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The ISS confirmed the achievement on X, saying, “NASA astronaut Suni Williams just surpassed former astronaut Peggy Whitson’s total spacewalking time of 60 hours and 21 minutes today. Suni continues to remove radio communications equipment outdoors in the vacuum of space.”

Williams, performing her ninth spacewalk, was accompanied by astronaut Butch Wilmore, who was on his fifth spacewalk. Williams donned the red-striped suit, while Wilmore wore the unmarked suit. The duo conducted hardware maintenance, removed outdated communications equipment, and collected surface material samples for analysis. Starting at approximately 8 a.m. EST, the spacewalk was expected to last six and a half hours and was live-streamed by NASA on its official website and YouTube.

The milestone comes amid public commentary regarding Williams and Wilmore’s extended stay aboard the ISS, initially scheduled for a shorter duration but prolonged due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. Controversy arose when SpaceX founder Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump criticized the Biden administration for the delay. Musk stated, “The President has asked SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the ISS as soon as possible. We’ll do it.”

However, NASA clarified that neither astronaut was at risk and that they could have returned at any time using a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. Their return has been scheduled for March 2025 aboard the Crew 9 mission, allowing them to complete the objectives of their extended mission and spend over 300 days in space.

Williams’ remarkable achievement is a testament to her enduring contributions to space exploration and her role as a trailblazer for future generations of astronauts.

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