French astronaut Sophie Adenot hailed a "mission accomplished" following two spacewalks to replace a faulty Space-to-Ground Antenna (SGANT) on the International Space Station (ISS). In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24 and RFI from 400 kilometres above Earth on August 26, 2026, Adenot described the operation as "a miracle" due to numerous mechanical setbacks encountered during the mission.

Adenot and her American crewmate Anil Menon completed the antenna installation on Tuesday, August 25, in six and a half hours. The antenna is vital for communication between the ISS and mission control in Houston, Texas. A week earlier, during the first spacewalk ever by a French woman, stubborn bolts and connectors had prevented the completion of the swap.

Beyond the technical challenges, Adenot shared her observations of climate change from orbit. She noted that France appeared "green" at lift-off in February but turned "grey and yellow, like a field of shorn wheat" by summer. She also observed smoke clouds from wildfires, drying lakes, and the rapid shrinking of the Aral Sea, where islands normally submerged were visible beneath "just a thin layer of water."

NASA has announced a third spacewalk before September 1, 2026, involving Adenot and her Swedish-American crewmate Jessica Meir. This upcoming mission will be another event to follow from Earth on FRANCE 24.

Sources