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An amateur lensman on Earth has captured an extremely rare photo of " stranded"NASAastronaut Suni Williams floating outside theInternational Space Station(ISS ) as it passed overhead . The image was admit during a late spacewalk , when Williams broke the disc for most non - consective hours spent spacewalking by a female astronaut .
Charline Giroud , a biochemist at the University of Oxford in England and astrophotography enthusiast , snapped the striking picture Jan. 30 using a small scope as the ISS pass over Oxfordshire at an altitude of around 250 miles ( 410 klick ) . The shoot required uttermost precision as the space station was traveling at around 17,500 mph ( 28,000 kilometre / h ) .
NASA astronaut Suni Williams can be seen in this telescope image of the International Space Station — if you know where to look.
" I was very prosperous to capture this event under vindicated skies with my telescope from my hometown , it was a fantastic moment , " Giroud toldSpaceweather.com .
In the photo , Williams is seeable as a tiny whitened blob attached to the end of the robotic limb , named Canadarm-2 , which looks like a gilded logical argument near the place ’s center ( see below ) .
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Photos of Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore (right) show where they were when the new photo was taken.
In summation to relegate the impressive EVA record , Williams is " also the first female cosmonaut to be photograph from the footing during a spacewalk , " Giroud pronounce . " Congratulations Suni ! "
NASA astronaut Barry " Butch " Wilmore , who has been stick on the ISS alongside Williams for seven month , was also on the spacewalk , which lasted 5 hour and 26 arcminute . However , he was working in the darkness of an airlock as the space station passed over the U.K. and is therefore invisible in the photo , Giroud said .
Stranded in space
Williams and Wilmore have been on board the ISS since June 6 , 2024 . They were ab initio schedule to stay in outer space for around a week . However , they became strandedwhen the Boeing Starliner ejection seat that delivered them to the station experienced multiple leaks , temporarily forcing it out of committal . The astronaut paircould now spend a sum of more than 300 days orbit Earth .
The incorrect Starliner capsule waseventually pass to Earthin September and successfully touched down in New Mexico upon reentry , leading to speculation that the astronautsmay have been able to safely travel onboard the spacecraft . However , the risks to their safety machine were deem too great at the time .
The astronaut dyad has since had their payoff engagement push back several times due to logistic challenges — most recently in December , when their February recurrence particular date waspushed back to some point in late March .
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Since taking office , U.S. chairman Donald Trump has made it a priority to retrovert Williams and Wilmore to Earth and has " ordered"Elon Muskto return the pair on aSpaceXcapsule before the propose March return day of the month , Space.com recently reported . However , it is currently indecipherable how or if this will happen .
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The renewed urging of their replication may have been fueled by recent tabloid rumor that Williams ' health has deteriorated significantly during her stay on the ISS . However , these unfounded stories wererefuted by Williams , who has only experiencedminor health effectsthat are expected of astronauts that experience foresightful stay in space — and is clear still primed enough to set spacewalk records .
This is also not the first sentence that NASA astronauts have endured extended missions in blank . In 2023 , NASA ’s Frank Rubiocompleted a 371 - day check in outer space — a record for an American spaceman — after the Russian Soyuz capsule he was traveling in was damaged by a piece of renegadespace junk .
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