• Source:JND
HighLights
  1. Anil Menon, Sophie Adenot removed faulty ISS antenna.
  2. Technical issues forced delay of replacement unit installation.
  3. Sophie Adenot became first French woman spacewalker.

Indian-American astronaut Anil Menon and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot on Wednesday successfully removed a faulty communications antenna from the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS). However, persistent technical difficulties during the activity consumed time, forcing NASA to postpone the installation of the replacement unit. The task has been shifted to the next date.

Anil Menon, Sophie Adenot Remove Faulty ISS Antenna

According to a news agency PTI report, the two astronauts spent more than six hours outside the ISS working on the station’s Z1 truss. The walk began at 8:29 am EDT. While it was Menon’s second spacewalk, Adenot became the first French woman to ever undertake a spacewalk. The astronauts had twin tasks, including the removal of the failed antenna and installing a replacement.

Installation Delayed

However, the operation took longer than originally scheduled as the astronauts encountered unexpected difficulties while disconnecting electrical cables and loosening tightly secured bolts on the antenna's gimbal assembly. NASA had earlier shared details about the task on X, writing: "LIVE: @astro_anil and @Soph_astro are going on a spacewalk to replace an antenna outside the International Space Station. Today's six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk is scheduled to begin at around 8:35am ET (1235 UTC)."

ALSO READ: 'Hello From ISS': Indian-Origin NASA Astronaut Anil Menon Shares First Video From Space | Watch

In the live telecast, the astronauts were reportedly seen putting in extra effort with the ratchet's wrench as they removed the antenna from its boom. The crew also performed cleanup tasks and an inspection and swap of a portable foot restraint near the Quest airlock of the ISS at the end of the spacewalk. “The installation work is expected to be completed during a future spacewalk,” NASA said in a statement.

“We got into this with the mindset that we wanted everything to go perfectly…Things were a lot different than expected, but what I would say that I am really impressed with is that all of those contingencies were well thought out,” Menon said.

ALSO READ: Indian-Origin Astronaut Anil Menon Makes History By Completing His First Spacewalk Outside ISS; What Project Is He Working On?

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