Skip to main content

How to watch NASA’s first all-female spacewalk on the ISS online

NASA’s first all-female spacewalk is going on outside of the International Space Station (ISS) right now on Friday, October 18 — and you can watch the whole thing live right here on Earth.

NASA will begin livestreaming coverage on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at 3:30 a.m. PT on Thursday. The first all-female spacewalk was originally set to take place in March, but had to be delayed because of an issue with spacesuit sizing and a lack of spare parts.

Recommended Videos

Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will be conducting the spacewalk, though there’s a chance it might be delayed once again. Assuming everything works out, the actual spacewalk should kick off at 4:50 a.m. PT on Friday, and you can watch it in the player below. 

NASA Live: Official Stream of NASA TV

The pair will venture outside of the ISS to make repairs — specifically, they’ll be installing new batteries. This will be Meir’s first and Koch’s fourth spacewalk.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

When asked about whether it was important for her work to be recognized because of her gender, Koch said the following in a video posted to Twitter: “I think it’s important because of the historical nature of what we’re doing. There are a lot of people who derive motivation from inspiring stories from people that look like them, and I think it’s an important aspect of the story to tell.”

According to space.com, of the 566 people who have flown to space, only 64 of those have been women, and of the 38 currently active NASA astronauts, only 12 are women. 

The significance of an all-female spacewalk — aside from it never being done before — is that it will pave the way for more female astronauts to make it to the ISS and beyond. 

NASA astronaut Christina Hammock Koch
NASA astronaut Christina Koch, who will take part in the first all-female spacewalk. STR/ AFP / Getty Images

NASA has plans to land humans on the moon once again by 2024, including the first woman to go to the moon. 

“I have a daughter. She is 11 years old, and I want her to see herself in the same position that our current, very diverse astronaut corps currently sees itself — having the opportunity to go to the moon,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a town hall in May. ”In the 1960s, young ladies didn’t have the opportunity to see themselves in that role. Today they do, and I think this is a very exciting opportunity.”

Allison Matyus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Allison Matyus is a general news reporter at Digital Trends. She covers any and all tech news, including issues around social…
How to watch NASA’s oldest active astronaut launch to the ISS on Wednesday
NASA astronaut Don Pettit.

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit Soyuz MS-26 Launch

Don Pettit isn't your average senior citizen. Instead of enjoying life in the slow lane, he's getting ready for a rocket ride to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday.

Read more
ISS astronaut’s stunning time-lapse video includes the Milky Way
An image taken from the ISS showing featuring Earth, an aurora, the Milky Way, and the station itself.

A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has shared a breathtaking time-lapse video featuring Earth, an aurora, the Milky Way, and the station itself.

Matthew Dominick, who’s been on the orbital outpost since March, shared the amazing 27-second sequence (below) on social media on Sunday.

Read more
NASA answers all of your questions on the troubled Starliner mission
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft docked at the space station.

NASA has updated an FAQ page on its website with the latest information on the state of Boeing Space’s beleaguered Starliner mission.

With so much speculation surrounding the state of the spacecraft, the page offers a definitive guide on where the mission is at right now.

Read more