Sunita Williams has 2nd-most spacewalks by a woman - Guess who's first?

Nasa astronaut Sunita Williams has made history by setting the record for the most time spent spacewalking by a woman. She logged 62 hours and 6 minutes of spacewalking, surpassing the previous record of 60 hours and 21 minutes held by former astronaut Peggy Whitson. Williams broke this record on January 30.

 

During her latest spacewalk with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore, Williams achieved this milestone. Nasa had said, “Suni Williams surpassed former astronaut Peggy Whitson’s aggregate record of EVA [extravehicular activity] hours... Suni records keep mounting at each passing time.” 

LIVE: @NASA_Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are taking a spacewalk to maintain @Space_Station hardware and collect samples. Today's spacewalk is scheduled to start at 8am ET (1300 UTC) and go for about 6.5 hours. https://t.co/6pvzcwPdgs

— NASA (@NASA) January 30, 2025

 

Despite breaking the record for spacewalking hours, Peggy Whitson still holds the title for the most spacewalks by a woman, with 10. Sunita Williams has completed nine so far.

 

 

Sunita Williams in space

 

Before this mission, Sunita Williams had spent a total of 322 days in space. With her latest launch on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, her total time spent in space exceeded 500 days. She is on track to surpass Nasa astronaut Jeff Williams, who has 534 cumulative days in space, making her the second most experienced US astronaut in terms of flight time, after Whitson. This was Wilmore’s fifth spacewalk, bringing his total to 31 hours and two minutes.

 

During the mission, they removed a broken antenna and examined the station’s exterior for signs of microbes. The task proved challenging, as they struggled to unbolt the stubborn antenna. Nearly four hours after leaving the ISS, they successfully removed it. Mission Control advised them to be cautious of floating debris. 

SpaceX Dragon to the rescue

 

Williams and Wilmore originally launched on Boeing’s Starliner on June 5, 2024, for its first crewed flight. They were supposed to return after a week, but Starliner faced technical issues, leading NASA to decide that the capsule would return to Earth without them.

 

Now the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is bringing them home. After a 17-hour journey, the astronauts will return aboard with a splashdown set for 5.57 pm EST on Tuesday in Florida (3.27 am IST on Wednesday).

 

Sunita Williams’ ‘happy place’

 

This unexpected extension led some to believe that the astronauts were ‘stranded’ in space. However, Nasa and the astronauts have dismissed such claims. Sunita Williams herself reassured everyone, saying, “This is my happy place. I love being up here in space. It's fun... it adds a little different perspective.”

 

She also reflected on life on Earth, adding, “It’s really difficult for me to imagine people on Earth not getting along... it’s the one planet we have and we should all really be happy that we are there together...”

 

Williams previously conducted a spacewalk with astronaut Nick Hague, marking Wilmore’s first spacewalk of this mission. Since 1998, there have been 274 spacewalks at the International Space Station.