Sat Feb 01 02:08:58 IST 2025: ## Astronaut Sunita Williams Shatters Spacewalk Record
**Houston, TX** – NASA astronaut Sunita Williams etched her name in history on Thursday, surpassing the record for cumulative spacewalk time. During a ninth spacewalk, alongside astronaut Butch Willmore, Williams exceeded the previous record held by Peggy Whitson, accumulating a total of 62 hours and 6 minutes outside the International Space Station (ISS). This places her fourth on NASA’s all-time list.
The spacewalk, conducted while the ISS orbited over London, involved the removal of a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the station’s truss. The astronauts also collected surface material samples from the Destiny laboratory and Quest airlock for analysis. While the antenna removal initially faced some challenges, the team successfully completed all primary objectives. NASA noted that the collected samples will contribute to research on microbial survival and reproduction in the harsh space environment, crucial for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The extended mission for Williams and Willmore – originally slated for a week – has been prolonged due to unforeseen circumstances. Problems with Boeing’s Starliner capsule resulted in its return to Earth without the astronauts, leaving them aboard the ISS until a SpaceX mission can bring them home in late March or early April. This unexpected extension has increased their mission length to approximately 10 months. This was Wilmore’s first spacewalk on this mission, while Williams also completed a spacewalk two weeks prior. Both astronauts have logged significant spacewalk time during previous ISS stays.
First Piper 