The first all-female spacewalk at the International Space Station was planned for March 29 with astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch, but it's now off because NASA doesn't have the proper spacesuit size available for McClain.
As NASA explains, McClain "learned during her first spacewalk that a medium-size hard upper torso — essentially the shirt of the spacesuit — fits her best." Since Koch also wears a medium, and only one suit in that size will be ready by Friday, the mission will now consist of Koch and a male astronaut, Nick Hague. NASA says that McClain is "tentatively scheduled" for a spacewalk on April 8 with a male astronaut, David Saint-Jacques.
While it might sound odd that McClain would just now be finding out what the right size for her is, Engadget points out that "there is no way to simulate the extended effects of zero gravity" on the body beforehand, also observing that McClain said in early March she had grown by two inches since she launched. And there actually are two medium sizes on the station; it's just that only one is configured for a spacewalk, and the other won't be ready in time for Friday, The New York Times reports.
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NASA spokesperson Stephanie Schierholz told The Washington Post that despite this setback, the first all-female spacewalk is "inevitable."
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