American astronaut Peggy Whitson made history when she floated outside the International Space Station today, breaking the record for the most spacewalks by a woman. <br/><br/>Whitson, 57, is making her eighth career spacewalk, surpassing the record of seven previously held by American Sunita Williams.<br/><br/>The spacewalk formally began at 7:29 am (local time) when Whitson and Shane Kimbrough switched their spacesuits to battery power before venturing outside the airlock and into the vacuum of space.<br/><br/>The goal of the spacewalk is to continue upgrading the International Space Station for the arrival of commercial spaceships in the years to come.<br/><br/>Today's walkabout is the second in a series of three spacewalks to outfit the exterior of the orbiting outpost with parking spots for a new generation of space taxis ferrying astronauts to the station.<br/><br/>SpaceX and Boeing are currently designing crew vehicles that will begin flying people to the ISS as early as next year.