Astronaut Sophie Adenot reached a significant profession milestone on August 18th 2026. She stepped outdoors the Worldwide Area Station (ISS) and have become the primary French lady to stroll in house.
Adenot is now the second feminine astronaut from Europe to carry out an extravehicular exercise. She labored alongside NASA astronaut Anil Menon for six hours and 23 minutes outdoors the station throughout US Spacewalk 97.
Anybody asking who Sophie Adenot is will discover a story constructed on years of take a look at piloting army helicopters and incomes prime engineering levels earlier than becoming a member of the European Area Company (ESA).
How Sophie Adenot grew to become the First French Ladies to Stroll in Area
The primary objective of the spacewalk was easy, restore and improve the communication gear of spacestation. Adenot labored close to the station’s central truss to swap out an previous antenna unit that handles excessive velocity knowledge transmission again to Earth.
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Spacewalk Code: U.S. Spacewalk 97
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Time Exterior: 6 hours, 23 minutes
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Companion: NASA Astronaut Anil Menon
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Most important Activity: Changing an ageing Area to Floor antenna
Difficult wiring connections prevented the crew from ending the antenna swap earlier than their time ran out. Mission management safely ended the spacewalk on schedule and can full the remaining job on a later journey.
Who’s Sophie Adenot past the First Lady Spacewalker from France?
Adenot was born in Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire in France in 1982. Lengthy earlier than getting into an ESA spacesuit she spent her profession in cockpit design and army aviation.
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Background |
Biographical Info |
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Schooling |
Engineering levels from ISAE-SUPAERO and MIT |
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Army Rank |
Lieutenant Colonel within the French Air and Area Pressure |
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Flight File |
France’s first feminine helicopter take a look at pilot; over 3000 flight hours |
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Astronaut Choice |
Chosen within the 2022 ESA astronaut class |
Her deep expertise with excessive threat take a look at flights made her a pure match for complicated spacewalk operations.
What Her Mission Means for European Ladies in Area
Adenot builds on the work of Claudie Haigneré who grew to become the primary French lady to go to house in 1996 and Samantha Cristoforetti who was first feminine spacewalker from Europe.
Her work outdoors the ISS reveals Europe’s rising function in worldwide house missions, proving how house companies share the heavy workload of retaining ageing orbital {hardware} working.
🔓✨ The hatch is open!@Soph_Astro stepped outdoors the Worldwide @Space_Station for the primary time.
That is the thirty first spacewalk by a European astronaut, the primary for @esa astronaut Sophie Adenot, and the primary by a French lady astronaut. 👩🚀🎉 pic.twitter.com/kIXWO5PALF
— Human Spaceflight (@esaspaceflight) August 18, 2026
Who was the First Lady to Stroll in Area?
Adenot made historical past for France however the title of the primary lady to stroll in house belongs to Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya.
Savitskaya stepped outdoors the Salyut 7 house station on July twenty fifth 1984, and spent 3 hours and 35 minutes testing instruments and welding metals in orbit.
Kathryn Sullivan grew to become the primary American lady a number of months later in October 1984 to finish a spacewalk. Since then dozens of ladies have carried out extravehicular actions, paving the way in which for Adenot’s work on the ISS.
First Printed: Aug 24, 2026, 18:32 IST
