Astronauts Suni Williams cracks record: 62 hours in space!

Astronauts Suni Williams cracks record: 62 hours in space!

International Space Station, USA - US astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams has set a remarkable record for most hours in space walks. With 62 hours and 6 minutes in the vacuum, she exceeds the previous record holder Peggy Whitson, who had reached 60 hours and 21 minutes. Williams has now completed a total of nine outdoor operations (EVAS) and ranks fourth in the astronauts with the most time in space. Anatoly Solovyev is at the top of this list with impressive 82 hours and 22 minutes.

Williams and her colleague Barry "Butch" Wilmore carried out an outboard assignment at the International Space Station (ISS) on January 30, 2025 to remove a defective radio communication unit. The operation lasted 5 hours and 26 minutes and started at 7:43 a.m. It was the third attempt to remove the Radio Frequency Group (RFG) after two previous attempts had failed in 2023.

a successful outdoor use

The removal of the RFG was crucial because it is an important part of the primary command and data antenna arrangement of the ISS. Despite several attempts, Williams and Wilmore finally needed “a little raw violence” to successfully solve the RFG. The defective unit was then brought back to the quest air lock to transport it to Earth for an overhaul.

In addition, Wilmore collected samples from the outside of the air lock during use to examine potential microbes. This was the first time that NASA carried out such a study to this extent, while previous tests were carried out on the ISS of cosmonauts from Russia.

records and challenges

With the new record for most hours in space walks, Williams is now part of a remarkable group of astronauts. Stephen Bowen and Michael Lopez-Alegria are just ahead of 57 minutes and 67 minutes and 40 minutes with 65 hours. After the successful external mission, Williams had to withdraw in her space suit from the last planned task due to an increase in the battery current strength. Your Eva was 274. Since 1998 to support assembly, maintenance and upgrading of the ISS.

The demanding space service is not without its challenges. Williams and Wilmore had to deal with many difficulties, including drive problems during their return mission. These events have led to their return flight in March with a SpaceX capsule classified as risky. For this reason, NASA asked for an acceleration of the return process.

The achievements of Williams and the challenges she faces are part of a greater history of space research. This field not only deals with the research of space, but also with the effects of weightlessness on the human body. Future, manned missions could lead to remote destinations such as the moon, Mars or even Jupiter moon, which brings both enormous scientific opportunities and new challenges.

The current achievements of Williams are a fascinating milestone in the history of space research, which has put a long way since the beginning with Sputnik 1 and the remarkable advances in manned space. The future of space travel remains as exciting as it is challenging, with the challenges that life and work brings with it.

For more information about these developments in space research, you can do the articles t-online.de , Space.com and the general overview of the Space research on Wikipedia Visit.