Adenot Completes Historic Spacewalk as First French Woman to Venture Outside ISS

Sophie Adenot has become the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS), completing a six-and-a-half-hour extravehicular activity on Tuesday. Accompanied by American astronaut Anil Menon, the operation focused on replacing a space-to-ground antenna essential for high-speed communications and data transmission between the orbital complex and mission control in Houston.

The activity commenced at 12:35 GMT, with Adenot and Menon working outside the station, which orbits approximately 400 kilometres above the Earth. Inside the ISS, flight engineer Jack Hathaway and station commander Jessica Meir monitored the proceedings and operated a robotic arm to support the mission. The preparation for this operation involved several days of rehearsals and focus by Adenot, who described the success of such missions as relying heavily on groundwork laid before the hatch opens.

Adenot, a 44-year-old engineer and former test pilot, is the second European woman to perform a spacewalk, following Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti in 2022. Her achievement follows her arrival in space in February, making her only the second Frenchwoman in history to fly into space, after Claudie Haigneré. The last French person to walk in space was Thomas Pesquet, who completed six spacewalks over two separate stays aboard the ISS.

The antenna replacement is a critical maintenance task for the station's infrastructure. Adenot noted that the component being replaced is key to maintaining the link with mission control. Her participation in this mission adds to her previous experience supporting extravehicular activities from inside the station, where she assisted Jessica Meir and Anil Menon during a prior operation.

The event underscores the continued development of France’s role in international space exploration. Adenot’s successful completion of the spacewalk highlights the technical capabilities of the current crew and the collaborative nature of operations aboard the ISS. The mission concludes a significant chapter in her current deployment, reinforcing her position as a key figure in the nation’s space programme.