Spacesuit hitch ruins giant leap for womankind

IT SHOULD have been a giant leap for womankind. But the first all-female spacewalk has been scrapped – due to a shortage of spacesuits in women’s sizes.

Christina Koch, 40, and Anne McClain, 39, were due to make history this Friday when they left the International Space Station to install lithium-ion batteries to power its solar panels.

However, the plans have been scuppered after Miss McCain’s body shape changed during her time in space.

Astronauts can get taller as their spine is no longer compressed by gravity and expands like a spring. Their torsos can also shrink from losing muscle and bone mass, as they are not under the same pressure to support the body’s weight.

On a spacewalk Miss McCain realised she needed to change the torso component of her suit from a large to a medium – but the station only had one in this size, which was to be worn by Mrs Koch. The only others available were in large and extra large. Mrs Koch will now be sent out with a man, fellow American Nick Hague.

The change of plans came as the US announced plans to put the first woman on the Moon within five years. Nasa last sent a manned mission there in 1972.