WASHINGTON: Nasa astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir have made history by carrying out the first all-female spacewalk, in a five-and-a-half-hour mission to repair part of the International Space Station.
Koch has been outside the ISS before, but it was the first venture into the vacuum of space for Meir, who was born in the US but also holds Israeli and Swedish citizenship.
About 90 minutes into the mission, the repair appeared to be proceeding as planned, as viewed from cameras on the ISS and on the helmets of the astronauts.
The pair are replacing a faulty battery charging unit which helps regulate the energy collected from the station’s solar array.
Koch was attached to the ISS’ extendable arm in the first part of the operation and began removing bolts, velcro and some straps from the defective unit.
The astronauts commented on the “phenomenal” and “amazing” view during the spacewalk — the 221st performed at the two-decade old ISS.
In 1984 Svetlana Savitskaya of the Soviet Union became the first woman to perform a spacewalk. A total of 15 women have now completed 43 different spacewalks.
Friday’s mission was Nasa’s second shot at achieving the giant leap for womankind.
Koch was scheduled to be on a spacewalk alongside astronaut Anne McClain in March. But Nasa had to scrap their walk and replace McClain with her male colleague Nick Hague.
The US space agency blamed a lack of available spacesuits, with both women needing a size medium but only one immediately ready for use. Nasa has since made an additional medium-sized suit quickly available on the station.
“In the end, I do think it’s important, and I think it’s important because of the historical nature of what we’re doing,” Koch, a Michigan native, said of her mission in a recent Nasa interview. — dpa
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
