Two women ventured outside the International Space Station to fix a faulty power controller early Friday morning in what was the first-ever all-female spacewalk.
In the livestream, Koch (wearing a spacesuit with red stripes) and Meir (wearing a suit with no stripes) can be heard talking to each other and astronautStephanie Wilsonfrom Mission Control.
The unit Koch, 40, and Meir, 42, are replacing failed to activate after the Oct. 11 installation of new lithium-ion batteries on the space station’s exterior structure, but hasn’t affected operations or the safety of the crew, NASA said in apress release.
According to NASA, their spacewalk — the name for any time an astronaut gets out of a vehicle while in space — is the 221st in support of station assembly, maintenance and upgrades, and the eighth outside the station this year.
It’s just the 43rd to include a woman after Russian cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first in 1984. U.S. astronaut Kathryn Sullivan followed in her footsteps several months later.
Jessica Meier (L) and Christina Koch (R).
A spacewalk featuring Koch and astronaut Anne McClain wasslated to happen in March, but the history-making moment was postponed because the women both needed medium-sized spacesuits, and NASA did not have enough available. Koch went on to perform the spacewalk with astronaut Nick Hague.
Koch and Meir’s spacewalk was thenscheduled for Oct. 21, but was bumped up after the failure of the power controller, which theNew York Timesreported had been in operation for 19 years.
Christina Koch and Jessica Meir on their spacewalk.
“History is being made right this second. Tune in to watch the #AllWomanSpacewalk! Congratulations to @Astro_Christina and @Astro_Jessica! #trailblazers,” Kingwrote.
AddedPelosi, “@NASA has captured the imaginations of the world for generations. Congratulations to @Astro_Christina & @Astro_Jessica for leaving their mark on history with today’s #AllWomanSpacewalk. You are an inspiration to women & girls across America.”
source: people.com
