Stranded NASA Astronauts Break Spacewalk World Record

5th Feb 2025
Stranded NASA Astronauts Break Spacewalk World Record

On 30 January 2025, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore stranded NASA astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), completed the 274th spacewalk on the space vessel and broke a world record. This impressive feat was accomplished during the removal of a faulty radio communication unit.

NASA Astronauts Break Record For The Most Time Spent In A Space Vacuum By A Woman

During the 274th spacewalk for maintenance on the International Space Station (ISS), Suni Williams broke a world record. She spent a total of 5 hours and 26 minutes outside the space station with her teammate Butch Wilmore.

This spacewalk was the ninth for Suni Williams and the fifth for Butch Wilmore. Cumulatively, Suni Williams now has a total of 62 hours and 6 minutes of spacewalk time under her belt.

With this achievement, she takes the record for the most time spent in a space vacuum by a woman. Over the years this record was held by Peggy Whitson who accumulated a total of 60 hours 21 minutes spacewalk time during a 2017 spacewalk.

Peggy Whitson still holds several world records regarding her achievements in space. Currently, she’s still the holder of the record for the most spacewalks by a woman, ten spacewalks, she’s also the first woman to command the space station twice among other achievements.

On 30 January 2025, a new world record was set and a prolonged fix on the International Space Station (ISS) was also completed. These achievements are a result of the determination of NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

A Fix To A Prolonged Issue On The International Space Station

The 30 January 2025 spacewalk by Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore was made to remove a faulty radio communication unit. Other astronauts have tried to remove this faulty unit in the past with no success.

The first attempt to remove this component was made back in April 2023 by NASA astronaut, Stephen Bowen and his team. This first attempt was successful hence preparations for a second spacewalk to remove this faulty radio communication unit.

In October 2023, the second attempt to remove this component was made, but the team could only inspect the communication unit. In June 2024, two more spacewalks to remove the unit were foiled by issues with the spacesuit equipment for use.

After various attempts to remove the faulty radio communication unit were made, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were finally able to remove the unit. Speaking on this spacewalk, Butch Wilmore said “I know we were not the first, we were not even the second crew to do this, but somehow…….we were able to get it done.”

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