NASA astronauts step outside space station to perform the 5th all-female spacewalk

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An astronaut who missed out on the first all-female spacewalk because of a spacesuit sizing issue got her chance six years later on Thursday.

NASA’s Anne McClain emerged from the International Space Station alongside Nichole Ayers. Both military officers and pilots, they launched to the orbiting lab in March to replace NASA’s two stuck astronauts, who are now back home.

Minutes before floating out, McClain noticed strands of string on the index finger of her right glove. Mission Control briefly delayed the start of the spacewalk to make sure her glove was safe.

Outside for nearly six hours, the spacewalkers prepared the station for another new set of solar panels and moved an antenna on the 260-mile-high (420-kilometer-high) complex. They were welcomed back inside by the space station's commander, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi.

“We are so happy to have you back, and your dinner is ready so don’t worry about it,” Onishi said.

The space station had to be raised into a slightly higher orbit Wednesday evening to avoid space junk: part of a 20-year-old Chinese rocket.

McClain, an Army colonel and helicopter pilot, should have taken part in the first all-female spacewalk in 2019, but there weren’t enough medium-size suits. The first women-only spacewalk was by Christina Koch and Jessica Meir. The latest was the fifth all-female spacewalk in 60 years of spacewalking.

Koch soon will become the first woman to fly to the moon. She and three male astronauts will fly around the moon without landing next year under NASA's Artemis program, the successor to Apollo.

Men still outnumber women in NASA's astronaut corps.

Of NASA's 47 active astronauts, 20 are women. And of the seven astronauts currently living at the space station, McClain and Ayers are the only women. It was the first spacewalk for Ayers, an Air Force major and former fighter pilot, and the third for McClain.

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In this image provided by NASA, astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers work outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/NASA TV)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A gas cylinder explosion early Sunday after a wedding reception at a home in Pakistan’s capital killed at least eight people, including the bride and groom, police and officials said.

The blast occurred as guests who had gathered to celebrate the couple were sleeping at the house, causing part of the house to collapse, according to the Islamabad police. Seven people were injured.

In a statement, police said the explosion occurred in a residential area in the heart of the city. A government administrator, Sahibzada Yousaf, said authorities were alerted about the blast early Sunday and officers are still investigating. He said some nearby homes were also damaged.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the loss of lives and offered condolences to the victims’ families, according to a statement from his office. He directed health authorities to ensure the injured receive the best possible treatment and ordered a full investigation.

Many Pakistani households rely on liquefied petroleum gas cylinders because of low natural gas pressure, and such cylinders have been linked to deadly accidents caused by gas leaks. Police said investigations were ongoing.

Government officials survey the damage of a home caused by a gas cylinder explosion hours after a wedding reception, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ehsan Shahzad)