A week after becoming the first French woman to walk in space, Sophie Adenot returns to the void. On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, the astronaut from the European Space Agency is set to leave the International Space Station once again, this time with American Anil Menon. This second spacewalk is not merely a ceremonial tour; the duo must complete a delicate repair and restore the ISS’s high-speed communication system’s full security.

The image promises to be spectacular, but the stakes are very real. Approximately 400 kilometers above Earth, Adenot and Menon must install a replacement Space-to-Ground antenna, connect it, and verify that it can relay data between the Station, NASA’s tracking satellites, and the Houston control center. The ISS continues to communicate thanks to another functional antenna. Thus, the mission aims to restore redundancy: this invisible safety margin that prevents a single failure from escalating into a crisis.

Only Seven Days After Making History

On August 18, Sophie Adenot had already crossed a historic milestone. She became the first French woman and the fifth French person to perform an extravehicular activity. Alongside Anil Menon, she spent 6 hours and 23 minutes outside the orbital complex. Their initial objective was to remove a malfunctioning antenna and immediately install its replacement.

However, the mechanics of space imposed its rhythm. Stubborn bolts and connectors slowed operations. The astronauts managed to disconnect the old antenna and secure it to the Station’s structure, but they did not have enough time to install the backup equipment. Consequently, NASA and ESA transformed the next spacewalk into act two of the same repair.

This quick return adds a rare tension to the mission. It is no longer just about achieving a historic first but returning to an unfinished job, applying the lessons learned from the first outing, and completing a task whose every gesture has been rehearsed on the ground. In space, endurance counts as much as precision: gloves limit dexterity, tools must remain tethered, and even the slightest movement requires rigorous choreography.

Why This Antenna is Essential

The targeted antenna, often referred to by the acronym SGANT, is part of the system that allows the ISS to transmit large amounts of data back to Earth. It communicates with the American Tracking and Data Relay Satellite constellation. Scientific images, telemetry, operational communications, and exchanges with the control center depend on this complex infrastructure.

Equipment number 2 has been unable to properly track relay satellites since November 2025. A second antenna is still providing service, meaning the Station is not cut off from the world. However, operating an orbital laboratory without a complete backup solution reduces the system’s resilience. Installing the replacement antenna is akin to reattaching a technological safety belt around a constantly occupied international installation.

According to NASA, Menon will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to retrieve the backup antenna, which Adenot will have released from its platform. Together, they must position it on the Z1 segment above the Unity module, then perform the electrical and data connections. Inside the Station, Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway will pilot the robotic arm and support the two spacewalkers.

A Six-Hour Operation Followed Live

ESA’s coverage is set to begin at 1 PM Paris time, with the spacewalk itself expected around 2:35 PM. The planned duration is approximately six and a half hours. Anil Menon, designated EV1, will wear a suit marked with red stripes. Sophie Adenot, EV2, will don a white suit without stripes. These visual cues allow teams and the public to instantly identify them.

If the main installation progresses faster than expected, the astronauts might replace a retroreflector on the forward port of the Harmony module. This element enhances navigation data used by vehicles docking with the Station. However, the priority will remain the antenna: the first spacewalk reminded that secondary objectives fade as soon as the reality of the hardware imposes a new timeline.

The Signal Sent by Sophie Adenot to France

Sophie Adenot’s journey gives this operation particular significance in France. A former test helicopter pilot, she is the second French woman to go to space after Claudie Haigneré. Her first extravehicular activity has already etched her name in history. A second spacewalk just a week later now positions her not merely as a symbolic guest but as an operator at the heart of maintaining the largest inhabited laboratory in orbit.

This distinction is important. Modern space missions do not solely rely on impressive launches. They depend on technicians, engineers, controllers, and astronauts capable of repairing aging infrastructure in a hostile environment. Adenot embodies this less glamorous yet more decisive dimension: the European and French capacity to participate in the most demanding operations of human exploration.

The ESA’s Epsilon mission does not limit itself to spacewalks. Onboard, the French astronaut participates in scientific and technological experiments in microgravity. However, an extravehicular activity remains one of the most visible and risky exercises of an orbital stay. Every minute is prepared, monitored, and supported by teams spread across the United States, Europe, and Canada.

What to Watch for During the Mission

The first indicator will be the actual exit from the Quest airlock and the transition of the suits to internal batteries, marking the official start of extravehicular activity. Next will come the retrieval of the antenna, its transport by the robotic arm, its attachment, and the connections. The equipment test will constitute the true verdict: an installed antenna must still communicate correctly with the Station’s systems and the ground network.

The timeline may evolve live. A bolt, a cable, or a constraint on oxygen consumption can alter the sequence. This is precisely what makes this second attempt captivating without the need for exaggeration. The suspense is real: two astronauts will attempt to complete, in pressurized suits and in the void, a repair that began seven days earlier.

A Local Repair, A Global Message

The ISS is an assembly of modules, electrical networks, computers, and life support systems built by multiple nations. Its daily operation relies on cooperation at a time when international tensions undermine other common projects. Seeing a French astronaut from ESA work alongside an American from NASA, aided by a Canadian arm, encapsulates the program’s logic: no single power maintains a scientific city in space alone.

For Sophie Adenot, the day should confirm a historic first. For the ISS, it must primarily restore an indispensable technical safeguard. And for the French public, it offers a powerful scene: that of an astronaut returning to the void not to break an artificial record but to finish the work.

Sources

• European Space Agency (ESA), “Watch Sophie Adenot’s second spacewalk live,” August 21, 2026
• NASA, “Spacewalk Preps Continue to Finish Antenna Installation Job Next Week,” August 20, 2026
• NASA, summary of the extravehicular activity on August 18, 2026
• ESA, summary of Sophie Adenot’s first spacewalk, August 19, 2026