France, Aug. 25 -- "What a day," Adenot said when she returned to the ISS last Tuesday. "My deepest gratitude goes to everyone who made this possible, pioneers who came before us, but also the incredible teams working behind the scenes today."

Flight engineer Jack Hathaway and station commander Jessica Meir remained inside the ISS while Adenot and Menon successfully removed the defective SGANT - a critical communications system used to transmit data and enable high-speed communications with Mission Control in Houston. Difficult conditions

The pair did not have enough time to install its replacement, a delay NASA said had been anticipated.

The astronauts had trouble removing the electrical connectors and bolts securing the faulty antenn...