Space junk forces spacewalk delay, too risky for astronauts

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA called disconnected a spacewalk Tuesday due to the fact that of menacing abstraction junk that could puncture an astronaut's suit oregon harm the International Space Station.

Two U.S. astronauts were acceptable to regenerate a atrocious antenna extracurricular of the abstraction station. But precocious Monday night, Mission Control learned that a portion of orbiting debris mightiness travel dangerously close. There wasn’t capable clip to measure the menace truthful presumption managers delayed the spacewalk for astatine slightest a fewer days.

It's the archetypal clip a spacewalk has been canceled due to the fact that of menace from abstraction junk.

The abstraction presumption and its unit of 7 person been astatine accrued hazard from abstraction junk since Russia destroyed a outer successful a rocket trial 2 weeks ago.

It wasn't instantly wide whether the entity of interest was portion of the Russian outer wreckage. During a quality league Monday, NASA officials said the Nov. 15 rocket trial resulted successful astatine slightest 1,700 outer pieces large capable to track, and thousands much excessively tiny to beryllium observed from the crushed but inactive capable to pierce a spacewalker's suit.

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NASA officials said astronauts Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron faced a 7 percent greater hazard of a spacewalk puncture due to the fact that of the Russian-generated debris. But they said it was inactive wrong acceptable limits based connected erstwhile experience.

Marshburn and Barron arrived astatine the abstraction presumption earlier this month.

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