Stranded NASA astronaut changes pace on spacewalk after 7 months in orbit

One of NASA’s two stranded astronauts got a very welcome change of scenery Thursday, taking her first spacewalk since arriving on the International Space Station more than seven months ago.

Suni Williams, station commander, tackled some overdue outdoor repairs, along with colleague Nick Hague. They appeared while the orbiting laboratory was sailing 420 kilometers above Turkmenistan.

“I’m going out,” Williams said.

Williams got a close-up look at the SpaceX capsule that will bring her home this spring, hovering just feet from the parked craft as she worked to replace a planar reflector on the space station’s exterior. The process required diligence, but she eventually prevailed without damaging her ride.

Plans called for Williams to sail back out the following week with Butch Wilmore on another spacewalk. The two were launched in Boeing’s new Starliner capsule last June on a week-long test flight. But problems with the Starliner delayed their return, and NASA ordered the capsule returned empty.

Then SpaceX delayed the launch of their replacements, meaning the two won’t be home until late March or early April — 10 months after launch.

A woman in a NASA spacesuit inside the space station gives the camera a thumbs up and smiles. It is seen from the waist up. — In this photo provided by NASA, astronaut Suni Williams tries on and evaluates her space suit on the ISS on Jan. 9. (NASA via The Associated Press)

A walk among the stars

It was the first spacewalk by NASA astronauts after the one that was interrupted last summer. US spacewalks have been put on hold after water leaked into the air chamber from a cooling loop for an astronaut’s suit. NASA said the problem has since been resolved.

WATCH | Astronauts Suni Williams and Nick Hague go on a spacewalk:

NASA astronauts embark on a spacewalk to complete repairs

Suni Williams, one of two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station after a technical problem delayed their planned return to Earth, was doing outdoor repair work with astronaut Nick Hague on Thursday.

This was the eighth spacewalk for Williams, who has previously lived on the space station, and the fourth for Hague.

Hague and Williams were to replace the station’s hardware and repair the Neutron Star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) C-ray telescope. Part of that process involves placing wedge-shaped spots at specific locations on the telescope to prevent unwanted sunlight from interfering with the X-ray measurements it makes.