NASA astronaut Anil Menon and European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot successfully removed a malfunctioning Space-to-Ground antenna from the International Space Station on August 18, 2026. Technical difficulties during the six-hour, 23-minute spacewalk forced mission controllers to postpone the installation of a replacement spare unit.
US Spacewalk 97 and the Quest for a Communications Fix
Two station flight engineers ventured outside the NASA to tackle a critical hardware failure on the station’s Z1 truss segment. Designated as US Spacewalk 97, the extravehicular activity began at 8:29 a.m.
The primary assignment required removing an old high-speed data and communications antenna—known as a Space-to-Ground Antenna or SGANT—and replacing it with a spare stored on an external platform. This specific antenna is a vital communications link used by NASA to transmit high-speed data and voice signals between the Mission Control Centre in Houston and the orbiting laboratory.
Inside the station, commander Jessica Meir and flight engineer Jack Hathaway operated the Canadarm2 robotic arm to assist the spacewalkers throughout the operation.
Technical Hurdles and an Incomplete Installation
The spacewalk lasted six hours and 23 minutes, but unexpected mechanical obstacles disrupted the timeline. The astronauts faced significant delays while disconnecting tight power and data connectors, unbolting the faulty hardware from its boom, and installing locking pins in the antenna’s gimbal assembly. Both crew members utilized a ratchet wrench with extra effort to extract the failed unit from the truss.
Because the removal phase consumed more time than anticipated, mission controllers determined that insufficient working time remained to retrieve the spare antenna and complete its installation.
The facility relies on a second fully functional SGANT system to maintain high-data-rate communications with Tracking Data and Relay Satellites and control networks across the globe including Houston.
Historic Milestones and Previous Schedule Adjustments
Tuesday’s outing carried major historical significance for the European Space Agency. Sophie Adenot became the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk, joining a select group as the fifth French citizen overall to perform extravehicular activities in orbit.
For Anil Menon, the mission marked his second spacewalk in less than two weeks, bringing his total extravehicular time outside the station to 12 hours and 50 minutes following an August 6 excursion with NASA astronaut Jessica Meir. That earlier August 6 outing experienced a brief complication when a carbon dioxide sensor on Menon’s spacesuit gave an unexpected data reading
after he doffed the suit according to agency officials.
That sensor reading prompted safety checks and pushed the antenna spacewalk back from its original August 13 date to August 18. Overall, the operation marked the 282nd spacewalk dedicated to station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Next Steps and Unresolved Schedule Decisions
Mission planners are evaluating how and when to finish the remaining hardware installation. NASA noted in a public statement that The installation work is expected to be completed during a future spacewalk.
Ground teams are currently reviewing a tentative follow-up spacewalk scheduled for August 25. Managers must decide whether to integrate the replacement antenna task into that upcoming mission or defer the work to a later date, leaving the exact timeline for activating the spare unit unresolved.
