One of the two NASA astronauts stuck in space got a much-welcome change of scenery when she stepped out for her first spacewalk after seven months in orbit.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stuck aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since rocketing into orbit on 5 June last year.
Due to thruster failures and helium leaks, they were unable to return home on what should have been a week-long test flight and it will be late March or early April before they can set foot on Earth again.
But after months in orbit, the station’s commander Ms Williams had to tackle some overdue repair work along with NASA’s Nick Hague.
They emerged as the orbiting lab sailed 260 miles (420km) above Turkmenistan.
“I’m coming out,” Ms Williams radioed.
It was the first spacewalk by NASA astronauts since an aborted one last summer.
US spacewalks were put on hold after water leaked into an airlock from the cooling loop in an astronaut’s suit, but NASA said the problem has since been fixed.
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Ms Williams and Mr Hague helped fix the NICER telescope which studies neutron stars and other cosmic phenomena.
Mr Hague installed patches which, the space station said, would hopefully restore full operations after it experienced data collection issues.
Suni Williams working outside the ISS during a spacewalk on Thursday.
Pic: AP/NASA
Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore on the ISS in September last year.
Pic: AP/NASA
It marked Ms Williams’ eighth spacewalk and she has lived on the space station before.
