Meir, Adenot to Replace ISS Navigational Aid in 284th Spacewalk

Q: How did a mid-spacewalk rescue help Jessica Meir secure her spot as the third most experienced female spacewalker in NASA history?

Jessica Meir secured that ranking by completing her seventh career spacewalk on the Sept. 1 ISS excursion, even after helping resolve a problem that briefly threatened the EVA. During the outing, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot developed a left-shoulder mobility issue that was later linked to interference from a glove heater harness or cable. Meir assisted in freeing the snag mid-spacewalk, allowing the pair to continue safely and return to the airlock without ending the mission in an emergency. Because the EVA was completed, it counted as Meir’s seventh spacewalk, moving her into third place among women NASA astronauts for total spacewalks. She now trails only Peggy Whitson and Suni Williams on that list. The rescue mattered because an unresolved suit-mobility problem can force a spacewalk to be cut short or reconfigured. Instead, Meir’s response helped preserve both crew safety and mission completion. The spacewalk also carried out key ISS maintenance tasks, including replacing a retroreflector on Harmony, installing jumper cables for data-relay systems, preparing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer’s radiator for future work, and replacing a high-definition camera on the truss. The EVA was also notable as the sixth all-female spacewalk in history.

Q: What unexpected spacesuit malfunction nearly derailed the historic sixth all-female spacewalk outside the ISS?

The near-derailing malfunction was a mobility problem in Sophie Adenot’s spacesuit: her left arm and shoulder movement became restricted when the glove-heater harness, or a related cable, appeared to snag inside the suit. During the sixth all-female spacewalk outside the ISS, Adenot reported trouble moving her left shoulder. Jessica Meir inspected the suit and determined the harness interference was likely catching in the joint area. After adjusting the suit — including unzipping the shoulder joint area to free the snag — the problem was resolved. NASA said the issue was limited and was fixed before the astronauts reentered the airlock, allowing the roughly 6-hour, 49-minute spacewalk to continue safely.

3 articles · Updated · NASA · Aug 26

Sept. 1 will bring the ISS’s 284th assembly-and-maintenance spacewalk, with NASA’s Jessica Meir and ESA’s Sophie Adenot set to replace a retroreflector on Harmony’s forward port.
The new reflector is meant to support spacecraft navigation during rendezvous and docking, while the pair also install data-relay jumper cables, prepare the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer radiator for later work, and swap a high-definition truss camera.
NASA plans live coverage from 7 a.m. EDT, with the excursion scheduled to begin about 8:30 a.m. and last roughly 6.5 hours.
For the crew, it will be Meir’s seventh spacewalk and Adenot’s third, moving Meir into sole third place among NASA women spacewalkers behind Peggy Whitson’s 10 and Suni Williams’ 9.