NASA has been forced to cancel its first-ever all-female spacewalk from the International Space Station - as there were not enough medium sized spacesuits on board.
The planned outing was greeted as an historic moment when it was announced earlier this month, marking the first time an all-female team would conduct an EVA (Extravehicular activity).
However, in a statement overnight, NASA said it had been forced to alter the plans, "due in part to spacesuit availability on the station."
The walk was the second in a three-part series of planned outings and astronauts Ann McClain and Christina Koch were due to take part.
Spacewalk
However, the space agency said there is only one suit on board that fits both women and as Ms McCalin took part in the first, Ms Koch will now join the second.
"Koch had been scheduled to conduct this spacewalk with astronaut McClain, in what would have been the first all-female spacewalk," it said.
"However, after consulting with McClain and [astronaut Nick] 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 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 29th, Koch will wear it."
The announcement was greeted with much disappointment overnight:
Because it’s not enough to discriminate against women everywhere on earth. https://t.co/Hlg7iCnQ3D
— Heather Barr (@heatherbarr1) March 26, 2019
I'm suuper disappointed about the all-woman spacewalk not happening as scheduled this Friday but I'm also super supportive of astronauts having the authority to say "I would be safer using a different piece of equipment." An all-woman spacewalk WILL eventually happen. https://t.co/LRob2RHvxq
— Emily Lakdawalla (@elakdawalla) March 25, 2019
Welcome to the 21st century: NASA can put men on the moon and men and women in space but claims that it can’t find two spacesuits that fit women astronauts for a spacewalk https://t.co/yexjQfdVUD pic.twitter.com/kKHKPPRBWZ
— Iain Levine (@iainlevine) March 26, 2019
Ms McClain is due to take part in the third spacewalk in the series alongside Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques. The mission is "tentatively scheduled" to take place on April 8th.
She was the 13th woman ever to complete an EVA - with Ms Koch set to become the 14th.
Live coverage of both outings will be aired on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Each walk is scheduled to last around six-and-a-half hours.
It has been 54 years since Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to complete a spacewalk - spending 12 minutes outside the Voshkod 2 spacecraft on March 18th 1965.
