For NASA, March 29th was going to be a history-making day at the International Space Station, with the first all-female spacewalk in human history. Astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch were scheduled to perform a variety of tasks on the exterior of the space station and it would have been the first time that two female astronauts carried out the delicate work in tandem.
Now that history-making event has been cancelled, and it’s all due to the fit of the spacesuits.
In a new update, NASA reveals that a change has been made to the spacewalk lineup and Koch will now be joined by Nick Hague, who just completed a similar spacewalk on March 22nd.
Originally, rookie astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch were supposed to head “outside” the International Space Station to install lithium-ion batteries for one of the station’s solar array pairs. It’s the sort of work that’s crucial to the station operations, because without power, astronauts cannot run experiments — nor do basic functions such as eating or even breathing.
However, McClain took her first spacewalk on March 22 (along with fellow rookie astronaut Nick Hague) and discovered that the large suit torso size she used didn’t fit her in space. Astronaut bodies stretch in space due to a lack of gravity, and working in microgravity is different than working even in a pool, so last-minute adjustments sometimes are needed to suit size.
As responsible astronauts do, McClain disclosed her suit size issue to the ground, and NASA made an operational decision to split the female spacewalking assignments into two extra-vehicular activities instead of one since only one medium-size torso is available for use — a size that both McClain and Koch would need to use simultaneously.
“McClain learned during her first spacewalk that a medium-size hard upper torso – essentially the shirt of the spacesuit – fits her best. Because only one medium-size torso can be made ready by Friday, March 29, Koch will wear it,” NASA said in a statement.
