Six years after missing out on history’s first women-only spacewalk due to a shortage of medium-sized spacesuits, Colonel Anne McClain of the US Army finally ventured outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday alongside Air Force Major Nichole Ayers.
The pair, both military pilots, had journeyed to the orbiting laboratory in March to take over for two NASA astronauts who had been delayed on Earth, and wasted no time in embarking upon their long-awaited extravehicular activity (EVA).
Just minutes before depressurisation, McClain paused to inspect her right glove when she spotted fibres protruding from one of the index fingers. Mission Control briefly held the EVA’s start, ensuring the integrity of her suit before granting the go-ahead. Once outside, the astronauts set about preparing the station’s exterior for the installation of a fresh set of solar arrays and repositioned an antenna on the 420-kilometre-high complex.
On Wednesday evening, flight controllers commanded the ISS to boost its orbit slightly to steer clear of debris from a discarded Chinese rocket booster that had been in low Earth orbit for two decades. With the station now sitting at approximately 260 miles above the planet, McClain and Ayers were clear to proceed with their carefully choreographed tasks.
McClain, who should have joined Christina Koch and Jessica Meir on NASA’s inaugural all-female spacewalk back in October 2019, had been sidelined by the absence of appropriately sized kit. This latest outing marked the fifth all-female EVA in the six decades since Alexei Leonov and Edward White first ventured into the vacuum of space in 1965.
Of NASA’s 47 active astronauts, just 20 are women, and with McClain and Ayers now two of only seven station crew members, they represent NASA’s commitment to diversifying its ranks. Meanwhile, Koch, who ultimately took part in that 2019 walk, is slated to become the first woman to journey to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis programme next year.