Sunita Williams Sets Women’s Spacewalking Record

Astronauts Mike Lopez-Alegria and Sunita Williams spent another day in space on Sunday, continuing the process of switching over the International Space Station’s power and cooling systems. Spacewalks are pretty important in themselves, but during the journey outside, Williams broke the record for the most time spent spacewalking by a woman.

The primary goal of the journey outside the International Space Station was to hook up the new permanent cooling system. Since a tiny amount of ammonia leaked out during the first spacewalk, NASA had the astronauts take extra precautions. It could be dangerous to the astronauts if it got into the station’s air system.

This latest spacewalk lasted more than 7 hours, and brought William’s total time to 22 hours and 27 minutes. This record should get broken again in a few days when Williams heads outside again for a third and final spacewalk within 9 days on February 8th.

Original Source: NASA News Release