NASA Had to Cancel the All-Female Spacewalk Because They Didn't Have the Right Size Spacesuits

A leap for womankind was cancelled because the spacesuits were too big.

On International Women's Day, NASA announced their plans for the first all-female spacewalk, set to occur on 29 March with astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch leading the charge.

But just days before it was scheduled to take place, it appeared that the historical moment would have to be indefinitely delayed.

See, McClain had undertaken a spacewalk a week out with a large-sized spacesuit. As humans increase in size in space due to the lack of gravity, McClain had anticipated she would fit into the large. However, the recent spacewalk confirmed that the spacesuit was too large for McClain and they didn't have a readily-available replacement.

The solution? McClain was swapped out for a male astronaut who fit into the size 'L', effectively cancelling the first all-female spacewalk.

A NASA spokeswoman, Stephanie Schierholz, announced the news on Monday.

"Anne [McClain] trained in 'M' and 'L' and thought she could use a large but decided after [last] Friday's spacewalk a medium fits better," Schierholz announced.

"In this case, it's easier (and faster!) to change space-walkers than reconfigure the spacesuit."

But as one tweeter pointed out, spacesuits (known as Extravehicular Mobility Units) are costly and time-consuming to build, and with the majority of spacewalkers being men, their limited range of spacesuits tends to favour larger sizes.

Let's talk about spacesuits, specifically Extravehicular Mobility Units, and being a #ladyastronaut.

The EMUs on the ISS were designed more than 40 years ago, with a 15-year shelf life.

11 of the original 18 are still in use.

Only 4 are on the ISS.

Those are the only EMUs. https://t.co/hZPLD7PV99

— Mary Robinette Kowal (@MaryRobinette) March 26, 2019

Understandably, with just three days from the launch, people were still mystified by NASA's choice.

McClain is scheduled to take part in a spacewalk on 8 April (with an adequately-sized spacesuit, we hope). Joining her on that spacewalk will be a male astronaut.

Header Image: iStock.com/1971yes