Sunita Williams Breaks Spacewalking Record

Photo:NASA

HOUSTON, TX (ANI)- NASA astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams set a new milestone on January 30, surpassing former astronaut Peggy Whitson’s record for total spacewalking time. Williams has now spent more than 60 hours and 21 minutes outside the International Space Station (ISS), performing extravehicular activities.

The ISS announced the achievement, stating, “NASA astronaut Suni Williams just surpassed former astronaut Peggy Whitson’s total spacewalking time today. Suni is still outside in the vacuum of space removing radio communications hardware.”

Williams, part of Expedition 72, conducted the spacewalk to maintain ISS hardware and collect surface material samples from the Destiny laboratory and Quest airlock. The mission, the 92nd U.S. spacewalk, was live streamed by NASA. She was joined by astronaut Butch Wilmore, marking her ninth spacewalk and his fifth. The two astronauts, who arrived at the ISS in 2024, are scheduled to complete their mission in March 2025.

Meanwhile, their return to Earth has become a point of political debate. President Donald Trump claimed on Truth Social, that the astronauts, had been “abandoned in space” by the Joe Biden administration.

However, the characterization of Wilmore and Williams as “stranded” has been disputed. While their return was delayed, they were never in danger and could have returned at any time via a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. They remain on schedule to return with the Crew 9 mission at the end of March, completing nearly 300 days in space. Any early return, NASA officials noted, could disrupt ISS operations by leaving only one U.S. astronaut aboard.

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