Adenot is the second European woman to complete a spacewalk, following the footsteps of Italy’s Samantha Cristoforetti in 2022.
Sophie Adenot, an ESA astronaut, has become the first French woman and second European woman to successfully complete a spacewalk, having carried out the mission on 18 Tuesday.
Adenot, who was joined by NASA’s Anil Menon, undertook the six-hour, 23 minute walk in order to remove the failed space-to-ground antenna 2. The antenna was designed to track NASA’s TDRS, which is the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, however, the device has failed to do so for months.
However, stuck bolts and connectors on the failed antenna delayed work, preventing Adenot and Menon from installing the new antenna as planned.
The plan was revised with Mission Control advising the crew to perform a long-duration tie-down on the Station truss structure, rather than transporting the antenna 2. It was decided that the installation of the spare would be carried out on a future spacewalk.
