First French woman to walk in space

Sophie Adenot (44) today became the first French woman to perform a spacewalk.

She and American astronaut Anil Menon left the International Space Station (ISS), which orbits 400 kilometers above Earth, French media reported.

They were unable to complete their planned tasks during the exit because the four hours allowed outside the Station had expired, the US space agency NASA announced: they dismantled the faulty communication antenna (SGANT), but did not replace it with a new one.

"I feel great," the astronaut said when she went into space and talked with her American colleague, laughing.

French President Emmanuel Macron called her spacewalk "a source of French pride," and other French politicians praised her.

The first European woman to spacewalk was Italian Samantha Cristoforetti in 2022.

Sophie Adena, an engineer and former pilot, in February became only the second French woman to reach space, the first being Claudie Haigneré, twice – in 1996 and 2001, but she did not leave the ISS into space.

The previous French astronaut to spacewalk was Thomas Pesquet – a total of six times during his two stints on the ISS. At 48, the aeronautical engineer, airline pilot and athlete helped revive the French public's interest in space.