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Sunita Williams, stuck in space, breaks spacewalking record at International Space Station
The event was livestreamed by NASA on YouTube and their website, marking Williams' ninth spacewalk and the 92nd spacewalk by a US astronaut.
Astronaut Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams, who is stuck in space since months, on January 30 broke the record for total spacewalking time held by former astronaut Peggy Whitson, according to the International Space Station (ISS).
In a post on X, the ISS announced that the NASA astronaut had "surpassed former astronaut Peggy Whitson's total spacewalking time of 60 hours and 21 minutes today. Suni is still outside in the vacuum of space removing radio communications hardware."
Also Read: Sunita Williams, stuck in space for 237 days, tried to 'remember what it is like to walk'
The event was livestreamed by NASA on YouTube and their website, marking Williams' ninth spacewalk and the 92nd spacewalk by a US astronaut.
The spacewalk, part of Expedition 72, began around 8 am EST, during which Williams worked outside the ISS to maintain its hardware and collect surface material samples from the Destiny laboratory and Quest airlock for analysis.
Also Read: Donald Trump asks Elon Musk to ‘go get’ 2 brave astronauts ‘abandoned in space’
Williams donned a suit with red stripes while fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore accompanied her in an unmarked suit. This was Wilmore's fifth spacewalk.
The two astronauts have been stranded at the ISS since June, 2024, after their spacecraft experienced mechanical issues and had to be sent back home without them. They astronauts have been working on Expedition 72 at the ISS since September 23, 2024.
Also Read: Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore finally step outside space station together after 8 months. Watch
Williams and Wilmore are expected to return on the Crew 9 mission at the end of March 2025, completing nearly 300 days in space.
Earlier this week, Space X founder Elon Musk, whose company is collaborating with NASA to bring the two astronauts back home, stoked controversy after posting on X, “The President has asked SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the ISS as soon as possible. We will do so. Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
President Donald Trump also took to TruthSocial to condemn the alleged abandonment of the astronauts by the Biden administration.
"I have asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk to go get the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden administration. They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!", he said.
