After being stranded in space for eight months, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore conducted their first joint spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday. The duo ventured out to carry out maintenance work and inspect the station’s exterior for any surviving Earth microbes.
As they exited the station, orbiting 420 kilometers above Earth, Wilmore remarked, “Here we go,” in a moment captured on NASA’s livestream on X.
Their extended stay aboard the ISS was the result of technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which brought them to the station in June 2024 for what was initially planned as an eight-day mission. However, complications forced NASA to alter the return plan, with rival aerospace company SpaceX stepping in to handle their repatriation.
NASA announced on Wednesday that it was collaborating with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring the astronauts back "as soon as practical." The statement came a day after former U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that SpaceX would soon undertake a mission to bring them home.
The delay in their return was further extended due to SpaceX preparing a new spacecraft, pushing the timeline beyond the initially scheduled February window. Meanwhile, NASA is also finalizing plans for the launch of Crew-10, which will facilitate a handover between ISS expeditions.
LIVE: @NASA_Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are taking a spacewalk to maintain @Space_Station hardware and collect samples. Today's spacewalk is scheduled to start at 8am ET (1300 UTC) and go for about 6.5 hours. https://t.co/6pvzcwPdgs
— NASA (@NASA) January 30, 2025
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Jaipur, Feb 23 (PTI): Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Kirodi Lal Meena on Sunday once again claimed that his phone is still being tapped and he is under surveillance.
"I am still saying my phone is being tapped and the CID is following me," he said while speaking at an event in Sanchore.
The claim comes days after Minister of State (MoS) for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham denied the phone tapping allegations in the Rajasthan Assembly, stating Meena's phone was not tapped.
"I received a notice (from the party). I told them that when I used to protest in the past, the officers during the previous government would monitor me. They would track where I was going, what I was doing and which movement I was participating in. They used to tap my phone. I have always said that my phone is being tapped and there is a CID following me," Meena said.
"The same officers are still in their positions. Those who used to tap my phone and follow me are still there. I never paid attention to it but now it should stop," he added.
Meena reiterated that "my phone is still being tapped" and the "CID is still following me".
"Yes, I made a mistake. I should have raised the issue on the right platform of the Bharatiya Janata Party, but sometimes the situation gets tangled. So, I spoke up," he said.
Meena further said there were scams in the previous government.
"A huge scam took place in Jal Jeevan Mission. Work was given without any tender. I raised the issue and some engineers were suspended, some officers were arrested and a contractor was also arrested," he added.
The opposition Congress had raised the issue of phone tapping. Responding to it, Bedham had last week denied the allegations.
Responding to Meena's fresh statement, BJP spokesperson Laxmikant Bharadwaj said the government has already cleared in the assembly that no phone of any elected representative, including Kirodi Meena, was being tapped.