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International Space Station

Spacewalk Preps Continue to Finish Antenna Installation Job Next Week

Expedition 74 flight engineers Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) and Jessica Meir of NASA pose for a portrait inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock. Adenot is wearing a spacesuit in a powered and pressurized configuration to test its mobility, comfort, and optimal fit. Meir also assisted Adenot in conducting suit leak and pressure checks while verifying the suit’s communications hardware and life‑support systems.
From left, astronauts Sophie Adenot of ESA and Jessica Meir pose for a portrait inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock. Meir assisted Adenot in conducting spacesuit leak and pressure checks while verifying the suit’s communications hardware and life‑support systems.
ESA/Sophie Adenot

On Tuesday, Aug. 25, NASA flight engineer Anil Menon and ESA (European Space Agency) flight engineer Sophie Adenot will conduct a spacewalk to finish replacing the space‑to‑ground antenna on the International Space Station. The pair began the work on Aug. 18.

Menon will ride the Canadarm2 robotic arm to retrieve a spare antenna that Adenot will release from an external platform. Together, they will install the antenna on the Z1 truss segment above the station’s Unity module. The astronauts then will make the precise electrical and data connections needed to activate the spare antenna for high‑speed transmissions with mission control. 

If time allows, Menon and Adenot will attempt a get‑ahead task to replace a retroreflector on the forward port of the Harmony module, which improves navigation data for visiting spacecraft. Menon will serve as spacewalk crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. Adenot will serve as crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit. NASA’s live spacewalk coverage on Aug. 25 begins at 7 a.m. EDT. The spacewalk is expected to start at about 8:35 a.m. and last roughly six and a half hours.

NASA also is planning a fourth spacewalk on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to connect power channel cables and data relay systems as part of ongoing maintenance. However, the replacement of the retroreflector would become the primary task if it is not completed on Aug. 25. The agency will make a decision on whether the early September spacewalk is needed following installation of the space-to-ground antenna.

Inside station on Thursday, Adenot and Menon were joined by station commander Jessica Meir and flight engineer Jack Hathaway, both NASA astronauts, for spacewalk procedure reviews throughout the day. Meir and Hathway will help the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits next week. Meir will also monitor the spacewalkers and assist Hathaway as he operates the Canadarm2 with Menon attached. The four astronauts also called down to mission controllers at the end of their shift on Thursday to discuss spacewalk procedures and robotics operations.

The astronauts still had time for research and lab maintenance on Thursday. Meir participated in a relaxation study to help reduce stress and improve sleep during a long-duration space mission. Hathaway photographed 3D colloidal crystal samples growing for a space manufacturing investigation. Menon and Adenot spent their extra time on light maintenance duties servicing life support and communications systems.

The three Expedition75 cosmonauts stayed focused on their station research and lap upkeep tasks for Roscosmos. Flight engineer Anna Kikina jogged on the Zvezda service module’s treadmill as electrodes measured her heart rate for a regularly scheduled fitness assessment. Afterward, she assisted flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov as he installed Earth observation gear to automatically capture visible and near-infrared photography of rivers, lakes, and mountains throughout Europe and Asia. Flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his shift on orbital plumbing and ventilation maintenance.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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