The idea that we sit with phone in hand, and watch live, as two brave astronauts work a construction/repair job, weightless — some 250 miles over our heads — in space-suits… is, frankly… gob-smacking.
Not just that they are treating it all as blasé, as changing the oil, on the old pickup, in one’s front drive-way… but that I for one, remember the first ever US spacewalk — and walker — named Ed White, in 1966. There was real concern that he might be hit by something, and fly off — to an unfathomably horrific death.
But now, more than a half-century later, this is common-place — 280 times (see the feed at bottom). Excellent:
…At approximately 8:35 a.m. EDT (1235 UTC) on June 30, 2026, NASA astronauts Chris Williams and Jessica Meir ventured outside the International Space Station for an approximately six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk. The pair will replace a wrist joint on the orbital complex’s Canadarm2 robotic arm.
This spacewalk is the second for Williams and the fifth for Meir. Williams will serve as spacewalk crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. Meir will serve as crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit….
What a time to be alive! Space exploration science is simply… amazing.
नमस्ते