Watch: Moment ESA’s Sophie Adenot reenters ISS as the first French woman to complete a spacewalk
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Sophie Adenot scripted history on August 18 as she became the first French woman to perform a spacewalk. She ventured out of the International Space Station (ISS) with NASA astronaut Anil Menon at 8:29 am EDT and spent 6 hours and 23 minutes removing a failed Space-to-Ground antenna for high-speed communication installed outside the orbital lab. And while the duo also tied down the unit on the space station truss structure, they ran out of time for the installation of a replacement antenna. NASA will now decide if that will be done on the next scheduled spacewalk.
“The crew members needed more time than expected to disconnect electrical cables and loosen bolts, delaying work to install a replacement antenna. The installation work is expected to be completed during a future spacewalk,” NASA said in a statement. “Near the end of the spacewalk, the crew also performed cleanup tasks and an inspection and swap of a portable foot restraint near the Quest airlock.”
The next spacewalk is scheduled for Tuesday, August 25, but the participants and timings for the outing are yet to be announced.
Sophie Adenot completes debut spacewalk
At 2:52 pm EDT, Adenot became the first French woman and the fifth French citizen to complete a spacewalk. Taking to X, ESA shared the moment she entered the U.S. Quest airlock with assistance from station commander and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway (also a NASA astronaut).
Spacewalk complete. ✅
— European Space Agency (@esa) August 18, 2026
After 6 hours and 23 minutes outside the International Space Station, @Soph_astro is safely back inside.
With today's EVA, Sophie becomes the first French woman to perform a spacewalk. 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/i3BghrdaRK
Having previously worked as a research engineer and pilot, Adenot was selected as an ESA astronaut candidate in November 2022 and received her certification in April 2024. She flew on her debut mission for the NASA-SpaceX Crew-12 mission, which launched on February 13 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. She was a mission specialist on the flight, sharing the role with Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Meir was the commander of Crew-12, while Hathaway served as the pilot.
Apart from being a space traveler, Adenot is also a certified yoga teacher and is trained in scuba diving and skydiving. Her outing with Menon marked the 282nd spacewalk for assembly, maintenance, and upgrades of the space station, and it’s possible she will get another chance like Menon did after his debut spacewalk with Meir on August 6.
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