Boeing Starliner Astronaut Takes Spacewalk After 7 Months in Orbit

Two astronauts, including Starliner crewmember Suni Williams, step out to perform station maintenance.

Wednesday, January 22, 2025 at 12:38 PM ET

Verified

NASA astronaut and Boeing Starliner pilot Suni Williams conducts a spacewalk to replace a reflective device that helps visiting spacecraft navigate to the International Space Station. [Courtesy: NASA]

Key Takeaways:

Boeing Starliner astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been on the International Space Station since June, an extension from their original eight-day mission due to issues with the Starliner spacecraft.
Starliner pilot Suni Williams recently conducted her first spacewalk since arriving, performing six hours of maintenance on the ISS, including replacing a rate gyro assembly and patching X-ray telescope light filters.
The astronauts are now expected to remain on the ISS until March and will return to Earth on SpaceX’s Crew-9 Dragon capsule instead of the Starliner.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Remember those two astronauts who hitched a ride to the International Space Station (ISS) on Boeing’s Starliner in June? Well, they’re still up there and are expected to remain until March, according to NASA. But one of them finally emerged from the orbital laboratory for the first time in months.

On Thursday, Starliner pilot Suni Williams and NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, took a six-hour spacewalk to perform maintenance on the space station, marking the first time Williams has exited since arriving.

Jack Daleo

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.