NASA made history when astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir stepped outside the International Space Station to replace a faulty battery charger on October 18th, 2019.
The all-female spacewalk was the first of its kind "in human history," the agency said. It started at 7:38 am Eastern time as the two American astronauts set their suits to battery power mode.
3, 2, 1…blast off! Here's to making history and two more female role models girls everywhere can look up to! 👩🚀🙌Thank you, @Astro_Christina and @Astro_Jessica! @Space_Station #AllWomanSpacewalk #GirlScouts pic.twitter.com/pU8yMIa97Y
— Girl Scouts (@girlscouts) October 18, 2019
Meir soon followed, carrying a tool bag while she was making her way out of the hatch at 7:49 am. The spacewalk was scheduled initially for five-and-a-half hours. Still, the crews completed their primary task, and the mission was extended to over seven hours so the astronauts could perform additional jobs.
Friday, October 18 marks a historic day: The first ever all-female #spacewalk! Want to share congratulations or words of encouragement for @Astro_Jessica or @Astro_Christina? Send us a photo with your well-wishes and we might send it to the crew or air it on our live broadcast! pic.twitter.com/zpreFMNJnR
— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) October 17, 2019
The historical float outside the orbiting laboratory into the vacuum of space came some months after another all-female spacewalk was canceled because NASA didn't have enough spacesuits in the right size. And it is being heralded as a huge step forward for the agency at a time when NASA still works to highlight the contributions of women.
Little girls growing up today will think this historic event is perfectly normal. #AllWomanSpacewalk . https://t.co/qp70XtYSz3
— Valerie Jarrett (@ValerieJarrett) October 18, 2019
Riffing on the famous quote by first moonwalker Neil Armstrong in 1969, Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) shared on Twitter: "One giant leap for WOMANkind!"
Curb appeal. It’s not often I get to see my house from the outside. This photo I snapped on my spacewalk last Friday captures the habitable modules that I have called home for the last eight months. Pretty lucky to be living inside an engineering marvel. pic.twitter.com/djbnCstXfN
— Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) October 15, 2019
At a media briefing before the spacewalk, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said that the agency would build on the astronauts' efforts and send the "next man and the first woman" to the moon by 2024, an effort the agency dubbed "Artemis" after the twin sister of Apollo. This spacewalk is another milestone toward making space more available to everybody.
So proud of my astrosisters @Astro_Christina and @Astro_Jessica! We’ve been training together since our selection in 2013, and now they’re out on a history-making spacewalk! #AllWomanSpacewalk pic.twitter.com/zjMGDJ5tae
— Andrew Morgan (@AstroDrewMorgan) October 18, 2019
In the Space Operations Center at NASA's headquarters, Bridenstine was watching the beginning of the spacewalk Friday with space station managers and some members of Congress and noted that fifteen women have now performed spacewalks.
Shout-out to the crew of the first all-female spacewalk. In space or behind the scenes - you are all amazing! 👩🚀 🙌 @Astro_Christina @Astro_Jessica #WomenInSpace pic.twitter.com/tFpWF7MpCp
— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) October 18, 2019
Ken Bowersox, acting associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations at NASA, hopes two women completing spacewalks will become routine one day. He noted that the physical characteristics of women have made it more difficult in the past to do spacewalks because of the design of spacesuits. Spacesuits weigh 280 pounds on the ground, yet nothing in space, according to NASA.
Koch is scheduled to spend 328 days aboard the station, which is the longest ever by a woman. She said that she embraced the historical significance of the adventure she was about to embark on.
Both Koch and Meir were chosen as part of NASA's 2013 astronaut class, the first with an equal number of men and women. However, women are still an overwhelming minority among the rank and file at NASA and the industry more broadly. Women make up approximately a third of NASA's workforce, 28% of its senior executive leadership, and 16% of senior scientific employees, according to a survey done by the agency.
The historical event was broadcasted on NASA TV where everyone with Internet access could spectate the spacewalk live!
Spacewalks are among the most grueling work that astronauts undertake in space. They're physically taxing and mentally challenging, astronauts have said — like taking an exam while running a marathon.
Before becoming an astronaut, Koch, 40 years old, was an electrical engineer at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center. There, she worked on scientific instruments used in the study of cosmology and astrophysics. Later, she became a research associate in the U.S. Antarctic Program, that included a year-long stay at the South Pole.
Meir has a doctorate in marine biology. She has previously worked at Lockheed Martin, contributing to human physiology research and participating in research flights for NASA on reduced gravity aircraft and an underwater habitat. She has also studied the physiology of animals in extreme environments.
NASA hoped to have an all-female spacewalk in March 2019. However, it was canceled after astronaut Anne McClain discovered that the spacesuit she was to wear did not fit properly. Astronaut Nick Hague went in her place instead.
Image credits: NASA, Astro_Jessica, Intl. Space Station
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