NASA astronauts complete Expedition 66's first spacewalk to replace the failed space station antenna system

NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Kayla-Barron concluded Expedition 66's first spacewalk at 12:47 p.m. ET, lasting 6 hours and 32 minutes. Marshburn and Barron successfully installed an S-band antenna subcomponent (SASA) on the Port-1 truss structure and retracted the failed antenna. In addition, the two completed the forward task on the Port-4 truss structure, including resetting the torque of a set of bolts.

It was Marshburn's fifth spacewalk, Barron's first, and the 13th spacewalk on the International Space Station this year. Marshburn's current spacewalk time is 31 hours and 1 minute, and Barron's cumulative time for spacewalks is now 6 hours and 32 minutes.

ISS crews have now been working outside the space station for 64 days, 12 hours and 26 minutes, including a total of 245 spacewalks, the main task of supporting the assembly and maintenance of the orbital laboratory.

As of this month, the International Space Station has been in space for 21 years, providing an opportunity for unique scientific research and technological demonstrations, helping to prepare for long-term missions to the moon and Mars, and improving the lives of people on Earth. During this time, 249 people from 19 countries visited the orbital laboratory and received nearly 3,000 research surveys from researchers from 108 countries and regions.