ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot completed her first spacewalk with NASA astronaut Anil Menon, becoming the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk.

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• Sophie Adenot and Anil Menon successfully completed US EVA-97 on August 18, 2026, after spending 6 hours and 23 minutes outside the Station.
• The spacewalk marked Sophie Adenot’s first spacewalk and made her the first French woman to perform an extravehicular activity.
• The astronauts worked on removing the failed Space-to-Ground Antenna 2, which had been unable to track communication satellites since November 2025.
• Stuck bolts and connectors delayed the operation, preventing the astronauts from installing the replacement antenna during the planned spacewalk.
• Sophie and Anil installed gimbal locks, removed bolts and disconnected electrical connections before securing the failed antenna to the Station truss structure.
• NASA revised the spacewalk objectives because of the delays, while installation of the replacement antenna was postponed until a future spacewalk.
• The spacewalk began after both astronauts switched their spacesuits to battery power at 14:29 CEST and exited the Quest airlock.
• The mission marked the 282nd spacewalk supporting space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades, with another spacewalk scheduled for August 25.