Suni Williams sets new record for longest spacewalk - over 22 hours

Flight Engineer Suni Williams now holds the record for most spacewalk time by a female at 22 hours and 37 minutes and will eclipse the mark she shares with Kathy Thornton for most spacewalks by a female -- three -- on Thursday, Feb. 8. The third spacewalk in nine days by International Space Station Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Sunita Williams is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 8.

Photo: Suni Williams sets new record for longest spacewalk - over 22 hours

The three spacewalks, from the Quest airlock in U.S. spacesuits, and a Russian spacewalk scheduled for Feb. 22 will be the most ever done by station crew members during an increment, said Mike Suffredini, station program manager.

The three spacewalks are termed EVAs 6, 7, and 8 because there were five previous station spacewalks from the U.S. airlock Quest during increments, times when no shuttle was present, reports Space Daily.

According to Houston Chronicle, Lopez-Alegria and Williams hooked up the permanent cooling system, covered an obsolete radiator that was retracted by remote control from the ground and stowed a fluid line that was connected to an ammonia reservoir.

They then moved on to other jobs ahead of schedule: removing a sun shade, photographing a solar array that will be retracted during space shuttle Atlantis' mission next month and making electrical connections for a new system that will allow power from the station to be shared with a docked shuttle.

Lopez-Alegria originally was supposed to jettison the sun shade, but NASA engineers instead had him fold it up and stow it away inside the space station.

Former astronaut Kathy Thornton previously held that honor, with 21 hours. Williams's record of 22 hours and 27 minutes includes her two most recent walks, as well as a spacewalk in December, informs Playfuls.