NASA astronaut and 1st female French spacewalker remove failed ISS antenna but run out of time for replacement
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and first female French spacewalker Sophie Adenot removed a failed antenna but ran out of time to install its replacement at the International Space Station, Aug. 18, 2026.
Two astronauts, including France's first female spacewalker, embarked on a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) to repair a broken antenna on Tuesday (Aug 18). NASA astronaut Anil Menon and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot were assigned this task, but they were unable to complete the replacement of the antenna before the six and a half hour window allotted for the work had expired.
The ISS crew had to temporarily secure the failed antenna to the station's truss in order to continue their mission, deferring the replacement to a future spacewalk. Adenot became the first woman and fifth citizen of France to conduct a spacewalk, following Jean-Loup Chrétien, Jean-Pierre Haigneré, Philippe Perrin, and Thomas Pesquet.
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