The first spacewalk by a French woman was successfully completed after nearly six and a half hours outside the International Space Station on Tuesday. French President Emmanuel Macron called astronaut Sophie Adenot, 44, "the embodiment of French pride". Adenot and her American colleague Anil Menon worked outside the ISS to remove a faulty antenna.
Sophie Adenot became the first French female astronaut to venture outside the International Space Station for a spacewalk on Tuesday, accompanied by American astronaut Anil Menon.
During the nearly six-and-a-half hour mission, the two astronauts attempted to replace an antenna that allows the ISS to communicate with mission control in Houston, according to NASA.
"I'm out," Adenot, 44, said after exiting the ISS, some 400 kilometres (250 miles) above the Earth. "I feel very good now."
Adenot became the second European woman to conduct a spacewalk, after Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti's mission in 2022.
Adenot and Menon could be heard chatting and laughing in NASA footage of their adventure.
While they successfully removed the faulty antenna, they were unable to replace it with new equipment due to time constraints, NASA said.
French pride
French President Emmanuel Macron on X described Adenot as the "embodiment of French pride" adding she was the "face of all possibilities".
Flight engineer Jack Hathaway and station commander Jessica Meir remained inside the ISS during the space walk. After helping their colleagues don space suits they were to monitor them and operate a robotic arm to assist with the antenna repair.
"Yeah, what a day," Adenot said after the space walk. "My deepest gratitude goes to everyone who made this possible, pioneers who came before us, but also the incredible teams working behind the scenes today."
For several days leading up to the operation, the French astronaut prepared by reviewing spacesuits, tools and safety procedures to follow once outside the space station.
"A successful (spacewalk) starts long before the hatch opens, and that's where my focus has been these past few days: rehearsing, preparing and focusing," Adenot said on X on Sunday.
Watch moreSophie Adenot begins historic ISS mission: The view from fellow French astronaut Michel Tognini
An engineer by training and a former test pilot, Adenot became in February the second Frenchwoman in history to fly into space, after pioneer Claudie Haigneré.
The last French person to walk in space was Thomas Pesquet, who did so six times over two stays aboard the ISS.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
