Washington, DC : NASA astronaut Sunita 'Suni' Williams surpassed a major milestone on January 30, 2025, when she broke the record for total spacewalking time held by former astronaut Peggy Whitson.
The International Space Station (ISS) shared the news on X: "NASA astronaut Suni Williams just surpassed former astronaut Peggy Whitson's total spacewalking time of 60 hours and 21 minutes today. Suni is still outside in the vacuum of space removing radio communications hardware."
Williams was outside the ISS during the spacewalk to maintain the station's hardware and collect surface material samples from Destiny laboratory and Quest airlock for analysis. This spacewalk was part of Expedition 72, and it began at approximately 8 am EST. NASA live-streamed the event on YouTube and their official website, marking the 92nd US spacewalk.
Williams, who was wearing the suit with red stripes, was joined by astronaut Butch Wilmore, who wore the unmarked suit. This was Wilmore's fifth spacewalk and Williams' ninth. The spacewalk was expected to last about six and a half hours. Both astronauts arrived at the ISS in 2024 as part of Expedition 72, which began on September 23.
Earlier in the week, SpaceX founder Elon Musk had stirred up controversy by commenting on the situation surrounding two astronauts, including Wilmore and Williams, who have been aboard the ISS since June 2024. Due to technical delays with their Boeing Starliner capsule, their return to Earth was postponed, prompting Musk to say on X, "The President has asked SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the ISS as soon as possible. We will do so. Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long."
In response, former President Donald Trump expressed his frustration with the Biden administration for what he called the "abandonment" of the astronauts, writing on Truth Social, "I have asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk to go get the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden administration. They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!"
However, the characterisation of Wilmore and Williams as "stranded" has been disputed. While the astronauts' return was delayed, they were never in danger, and their return could have happened at any time through a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Wilmore and Williams have been scheduled to return on the Crew 9 mission at the end of March 2025, completing nearly 300 days in space.
Despite Musk's comments regarding an early return, such a move could disrupt ISS operations, leaving only one US astronaut on board to manage vital tasks. As Crew 9's departure nears, the astronauts will stay until March 2025, fulfilling the goals of their extended mission.