In a first, NASA delayed a spacewalk set for Tuesday morning after space debris capable of puncturing an astronaut’s suit was detected.
Two U.S. astronauts were scheduled to replace a bad antenna outside the International Space Station, a mission that would have taken six hours. However, Mission Control said it noticed the debris could come within striking distance of the space station and its inhabitants. Due to a lack of time to determine the likelihood of the astronauts getting hit, NASA rescheduled the walk for Thursday.
“Due to the lack of opportunity to properly assess the risk it could pose to the astronauts, teams have decided to delay the spacewalk planned for Tuesday, Nov. 30 until more information is available,” NASA said in a statement posted on Twitter early Tuesday morning.
SPACEX LAUNCHES SATELLITE TO CRASH INTO ASTEROID
NASA did not reveal what the debris was, but the delay comes after Russia blew up a satellite in space earlier this month, which resulted in thousands of satellite pieces floating around in space.
The explosion was close enough to the space station that it prompted astronauts to take shelter.
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New components for the space station have already been added this year from over a dozen spacewalks.
