Tune In Tomorrow! Astronauts Are Going for a Spacewalk to Fix the Space Station
Quick Summary
Tomorrow, August 25, two astronauts will float outside the International Space Station to finish an important repair job. You can watch it live — no ticket required!
What Happened?
Get your alarm clocks ready! Tomorrow morning, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot will step outside the International Space Station (ISS) for a spacewalk.
A spacewalk is exactly what it sounds like. Astronauts put on special suits and go outside the station — into the actual vacuum of space. There is no air out there. No gravity pulling them down. Just Earth far below and stars in every direction.
NASA calls this U.S. Spacewalk 98. It will be the 283rd spacewalk ever conducted to build and maintain the ISS. That is a lot of space toolbelt moments!
The main job is finishing the replacement of a communications antenna. Think of it like the Wi-Fi router for the space station. This antenna sends and receives signals between the ISS and Mission Control in Houston, Texas. Menon and Adenot started replacing it during Spacewalk 97 on August 18 — and tomorrow they will wrap up the work.
If they have extra time, they will also swap out a small navigation reflector on a part of the station called the Harmony module. That reflector helps visiting spacecraft dock safely — like a mirror that guides ships into a harbor.
The spacewalk is expected to last about six and a half hours. NASA’s live coverage begins at 7 a.m. Eastern time on NASA+, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and the X platform.
Why Does It Matter?
The ISS is like a city in space. It needs repairs and upgrades just like buildings on Earth do. A working antenna means astronauts and ground teams can always talk to each other — which is very important when something goes wrong at 400 kilometers above the planet.
Sophie Adenot, a French astronaut, made history recently by becoming the first French woman to walk in space. Tomorrow will be her second spacewalk. For Menon, it will be his third.
Astronauts train underwater for months to practice spacewalks. Swimming in a huge pool helps mimic the feeling of floating in space, because water slows movement just like weightlessness does. It takes a huge amount of skill and teamwork.
Big Words
- Spacewalk — when an astronaut leaves a spacecraft and works in open space, also called an EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity)
- Vacuum — a space with no air or atmosphere, like the environment just outside the ISS
- Communications antenna — a device that sends and receives signals, letting astronauts talk with teams on the ground
- Docking — when a visiting spacecraft carefully connects to the space station, like snapping puzzle pieces together
- EVA — short for Extra-Vehicular Activity, the official name for a spacewalk
Fun Fact
Astronauts’ spacesuits are essentially tiny one-person spacecraft! Each suit supplies oxygen, controls temperature, and protects against tiny space rocks — and costs roughly $12 million to build.
Think About It
If you were an astronaut preparing for a spacewalk, what part of the job do you think would feel most exciting — and what part might feel most nerve-wracking?
Sources
- NASA.gov — NASA to Cover Three US Spacewalks, Host Preview News Conference
- NASA Live schedule — U.S. Spacewalk 98, August 25, 2026
- Gadget.co.za — NASA tackles ISS upgrades in live spacewalk
- SpaceCalendar.com — U.S. ISS Spacewalk 98