The grueling reality of orbital repair beyond the safety of the airlock

Space · Published 21 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Space exploration isn't just about high-altitude travel; it is a series of complex, manual repairs conducted in a vacuum. From swapping failed gyroscopes to wrestling with stuck bolts on massive antennas, astronauts perform heavy construction and maintenance while suspended in orbit.

Extravehicular activities (EVAs), commonly known as spacewalks, serve as the primary method for maintaining the International Space Station's infrastructure. During mission STS-131, specialists Rick Mastracchio and Clay Anderson performed critical tasks including removing an ammonia tank, retrieving a Japanese experiment on metal degradation in space, and replacing a failed gyroscope. These missions are essential because they allow for hardware upgrades and repairs that cannot be achieved by robotic systems alone.

The physical demands of these tasks are significant. During US EVA-97 on August 18, 2026, astronauts Sophie Adenot and Anil Menon spent over six hours in a vacuum to remove the Space-To-Ground antenna 2 (SGANT-2). The mission was complicated by mechanical resistance; stuck bolts and connectors delayed their progress, forcing Mission Control to revise objectives on the fly. Instead of moving the failed unit to a stowage platform, they had to perform a long-duration tie-down on the station truss.

Technological evolution has also changed how humans move in space. In 1984, Bruce McCandless II performed the first untethered spacewalk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). This nitrogen-propelled backpack allowed crews to move away from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Challenger, expanding the range of human reach in orbit. Today, these missions continue as a collaborative international effort, with EVAs providing the necessary manual dexterity to keep orbital habitats functional.

These operations are milestones of both engineering and endurance. The removal of the SGANT-2 was part of a sequence of five planned spacewalks for the epsilon mission, marking the 282nd such EVA in support of station assembly and upgrades.

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