NASA cancels first all-female spacewalk

Times News Service

MUSCAT: A historic first all-female spacewalk was cancelled due to spacesuit complications, NASA has said.

Astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch were initially scheduled to install lithium-ion batteries at the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday. It would have marked the first time a spacewalk had been done by two women.

However, NASA has said Koch will now conduct the spacewalk with her male colleague Nick Hague. The space agency said in a statement, “Koch had been scheduled to conduct this spacewalk with astronaut McClain, in what would have been the first all-female spacewalk. However, after consulting with McClain and Hague following the first spacewalk, mission managers decided to adjust the assignments, due in part to spacesuit availability on the station.

“McClain learned during her first spacewalk that a mediumsize hard upper torso – essentially the shirt of the spacesuit – fits her best. Because only one mediumsize torso can be made ready by Friday, March 29, Koch will wear it,” they said.

McClain completed her first spacewalk with Hague over the weekend. Both are representing the U.S. Air Force Space Command. According to NASA, there have been 213 spacewalks at the ISS as of January 2019.

The first person to conduct a spacewalk was Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov on 18 March 1965. It lasted 10 minutes. The first American to do one, Ed White, followed on 3 June 1965 during the Gemini 4 mission. His walk lasted 23 minutes.

The world record for most spacewalks is currently held by Russian astronaut Anatoly Solovyev, who has gone on 16 of them.