On Tuesday, NASA called off a spacewalk because of flying space junk that could damage the international Space Station or puncture an astronaut’s suit. Two U.S. astronauts were supposed to conduct a spacewalk to replace a bad antenna outside of the space station. However, late Monday evening, Mission Control identified a piece of orbiting debris that could come dangerously close.
The crew did not have enough time to assess the threat, so station managers delayed the mission for a few days. This is the first time ever a spacewalk has been canceled due to debris. The crew of seven aboard the ISS have been at increased risk from space junk after Russia destroyed a satellite two weeks ago.
It wasn’t clear whether the objects of concern were part of the Russian satellite wreckage. But during a news conference Monday, NASA officials said the November 15 missile test resulted in at least 1,700 satellite pieces big enough to track, and thousands more too small to be observed from the ground.
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