Sophie Adenot, an astronaut with the European Space Agency, became the first Frenchwoman to conduct a spacewalk on Tuesday, exiting the International Space Station alongside NASA astronaut Anil Menon.
The pair departed the ISS at approximately 8:29 a.m. Eastern Time to begin their mission, which was expected to last about six and a half hours. The spacewalk had been postponed due to a malfunction in Menon's spacesuit.
During the extravehicular activity, Adenot and Menon worked to replace an antenna used for high-speed communications between the orbital station and Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas. The antenna serves as a critical link for data transmission from the laboratory.
Adenot is the second French citizen to reach Earth's orbit. Claudie Haignere preceded her, flying to the Mir space station in 1996 as part of the Russian-French Cassiopeia mission.
French President Emmanuel Macron commented on Adenot's achievement via social media, stating that by becoming the first Frenchwoman to go into space, she has become a source of pride for France and an example for girls who dream of exploring the cosmos. Macron described her accomplishment as part of "the time of pioneers."
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