After nearly a year of frustration and failed attempts, two NASA astronauts finally managed to remove a stubborn radio communications unit from the International Space Station (ISS) during a spacewalk on Thursday.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams doing a spacewalk outside of the International Space. Image credit: NASA
Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, both part of the station’s Expedition 72 crew, worked outside the ISS for 5 hours and 26 minutes, overcoming a challenge that had defeated two previous spacewalk teams. Their efforts to free the radio frequency group (RFG), a vital part of the station’s command and data antenna system, came at the cost of other planned tasks, but their success marked a significant win for NASA’s maintenance efforts.
The duo, who launched together aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, began their extravehicular activity (EVA) at 7:43 a.m. EST (1243 GMT). Wilmore made his way to the RFG work site, while Williams took a ride on the Canadarm2 robotic arm, positioning herself to assist in the delicate operation.
A Year-Long Battle to Remove a Stubborn Component
This wasn’t the first time NASA had tried to replace the faulty RFG. The first attempt, in April 2023, failed when a key latching bolt refused to release. NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, who had been part of that earlier spacewalk, was in Mission Control on Thursday, offering guidance as Williams and Wilmore took another shot at the task.
A second attempt, in October 2023, ran out of time before the unit could be removed. Then, two more planned spacewalks in June 2024 were cut short before they even began due to spacesuit equipment issues.
So, when Williams finally felt the unit give way, she couldn’t help but celebrate.
“There it goes, it’s free,” she radioed back to Mission Control. “Holy moly!”
Wilmore, equally relieved, later summed up the moment: "It was jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, and then it came loose."
Removing the RFG turned out to be even more difficult than expected. The task, originally allocated three hours, ended up taking more than half of the spacewalk. Williams and Wilmore had to use several different techniques—and a bit of brute force—to finally pry the unit free.
With the unit successfully removed, the astronauts carefully transported it back to the Quest airlock, securing it for return to Earth, where engineers will inspect and refurbish it.
“I know we were not the first — we were not even the second crew to do this — but somehow ... we were able to get it done," Williams reflected after the spacewalk.
A Scientific First for NASA: Swabbing for Microbial Life in Space
After dealing with the RFG, Williams returned to the worksite to clean up and collect tools, while Wilmore turned his attention to an experiment with potentially groundbreaking implications.
For the first time, NASA conducted an official study of microbial life on the exterior of the ISS. Wilmore used swabs to collect samples from the outside of the Quest airlock, hoping to determine whether microorganisms can survive the harsh conditions of space.
Since 2014, Russian cosmonauts have gathered similar samples from their segment of the ISS, later claiming that they had discovered microbes that had adapted to space’s vacuum. If confirmed, this could provide valuable insights into the resilience of life beyond Earth.
A Record-Breaking Spacewalk for Williams
The extended time spent on the RFG task meant that one final job had to be postponed—preparing a spare elbow joint for the Canadarm2 robotic arm. That work will have to wait for a future spacewalk.
Williams and Wilmore reentered the airlock at 1:09 p.m. EST (1809 GMT), officially wrapping up their challenging but ultimately successful EVA.
For Wilmore, this was his fifth spacewalk, bringing his total time spent outside the ISS to 31 hours and 2 minutes.
For Williams, this was a historic moment.
The spacewalk marked her ninth EVA, and during the outing, she broke the record for most time spent in spacewalks by a woman. With a total of 62 hours and 6 minutes, she surpassed former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson’s 2017 record of 60 hours and 21 minutes.
Though Whitson still holds the record for the most individual spacewalks by a woman (10), Williams now ranks fourth worldwide for the most time spent on EVA by any astronaut—male or female.
Thursday’s EVA was the 274th spacewalk conducted in support of the International Space Station’s assembly, maintenance, and upgrades since 1998.
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