NASA astronauts complete 5th-ever all-female spacewalk

Two NASA astronauts have completed a spacewalk, stepping outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday to take part in U.S. Spacewalk 93.

It is the first all-female spacewalk since 2023 and just the fifth in NASA's history.

The spacewalk began around 8:40 a.m. ET and lasted about six-and-a-half hours. NASA began live coverage at 6:30 a.m. ET on NASA+.

Astronauts and flight engineers Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers relocated a space station communications antennae and installed a mounting bracket before an additional set of solar panels are put in place, according to NASA.

The panels, known as ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays, are lightweight power sources that provide more energy than traditional solar arrays and weigh much less.

The arrays will arrive at the ISS later this year when a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft performs a commercial resupply mission and will be installed during a future spacewalk, according to NASA.

NASA says the arrays will provide power generation capability by up to 30%, increasing the ISS's total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts.

During a press conference last week, Diana Trujillo, spacewalk flight director at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, said the antennae is being shifted a foot and a half to "clear one of the antennas from structural blockage."

At the press conference, Bill Spetch, operations integration manager for NASA's ISS Program, said the antennae allows the ISS to communicate with visiting vehicles.

This is the third spacewalk for McClain and the first for Ayers. During the spacewalk, McClain wore suit with red stripes and Ayers wore an unmarked suit, NASA said.

McClain and Ayers were assisted by two other astronauts onboard the ISS, who helped get them into and out of their spacesuits.

"In addition to that, on Earth, we will have a team of specialists that will be following everything on the spacewalk itself, all the details of what we are executing," Trujillo said.

The spacesuits used for spacewalks are filled with oxygen and the astronauts breathe in pure oxygen for several hours to get rid of nitrogen in their bodies. Nitrogen can lead to gas bubbles and cause pain, according to NASA.

McClain and Ayers were tethered to the spacecraft to prevent them from floating into space.

On Wednesday, NASA said the pair are finalizing preparations, including staging their spacesuits and organizing their spacewalking tools. They also underwent a pre-spacewalk health check.

According to NASA, this is the 275th spacewalk "in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades."

Spetch also noted at the press conference that this November will mark 25 years of continuous human presence aboard the ISS.