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First All-Female Spacewalk Canceled Because NASA Doesn't Have Two Suits That Fit (npr.org)
The first all-female spacewalk scheduled for Friday has been cancelled by NASA (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source) because they don't have two spacesuits that fit the female astronauts. According to The New York Times, Anne C. McClain and Christina H. Koch both need to wear a medium-size torso component, but only one is readily available at the International Space Station. From the report: The mission itself is unchanged. On Friday, two astronauts will venture outside of the space station on a six-hour mission to install massive lithium-ion batteries that will help to power the research laboratory. Ms. Koch is still scheduled to participate, along with her fellow astronaut Nick Hague; Ms. McClain did her first spacewalk last week. But the first women-only venture outside of the confines of the space station will have to happen on another day. "After consulting with McClain and Hague following the first spacewalk, mission managers decided to adjust the assignments, due in part to spacesuit availability on the station," NASA said in a statement.
Stephanie Schierholz, a spokeswoman for NASA, said in an interview on Monday that there were already two medium-size hard upper torsos -- "essentially the shirt of the spacesuit," according to NASA -- at the space station. But there were a couple of issues. One was that Ms. McClain had thought she would be able to work in a large-size torso, but after her spacewalk last Friday, she wore a medium-size torso and learned that it fit her better. Ms. Koch also uses the same size. And of the two medium-size torsos available, one has yet to be properly configured for a spacewalk. It would take hours of crew labor -- not to mention some additional risk -- to fix that in time for Friday. Instead of doing that, NASA decided to simply switch out the astronauts. In the end, both women will have done a spacewalk -- just not together.
Stephanie Schierholz, a spokeswoman for NASA, said in an interview on Monday that there were already two medium-size hard upper torsos -- "essentially the shirt of the spacesuit," according to NASA -- at the space station. But there were a couple of issues. One was that Ms. McClain had thought she would be able to work in a large-size torso, but after her spacewalk last Friday, she wore a medium-size torso and learned that it fit her better. Ms. Koch also uses the same size. And of the two medium-size torsos available, one has yet to be properly configured for a spacewalk. It would take hours of crew labor -- not to mention some additional risk -- to fix that in time for Friday. Instead of doing that, NASA decided to simply switch out the astronauts. In the end, both women will have done a spacewalk -- just not together.
BOOM! Problem solved!
Real reason: They refused to go out in public wearing the same outfit!
because they don't have two spacesuits that fit the female astronauts
These do have two spacesuits that fit the female astronauts, just not ones that are tooled for this particular mission.
"Two mediums existed on the ISS, but only one was prepped for a spacewalk. Instead of devoting extensive crew time to make the extra medium-sized suit space-worthy by Friday, NASA decided to restaff"
I think it's equally important to recognize that both NASA and the astronauts are putting the mission first.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
They have a second medium torso on the ISS, it would just take 12 hours to bring it up to usable spec for use in this space walk.
They elected to instead switch to another astronaut who fitted one of the other, already usable torso units.
This whole thing came about because the astronaut in question was fitted for the large torso, but on orbit determined that the medium torso was a better fit during an earlier spacewalk, and as such NASA errs on the side of caution as the fit contributes significantly to performance.
There are redundant suits of each size but the secondary medium suit would need to be configured and loaded for the specific spacewalk. They are around 40 years old and you need to be sure everything works correctly before putting it on and going into vacuum - that takes time.
These are EVA suits and are not the same as flight suits and likely would not be used in an emergency since they are difficult to put on and require assistance to do so.
Enigma
It seems to me that lack of preparation is an issue here.
... well... to fit the suits appropriately.
Even the blurb explains that the issue was that there was a planned spacewalk and although there are 6 astronauts on board the ISS at this time and there has been some time to make the decision to prepare the space suits, no one saw fit to
Who gives a shit about the gender of the astronauts beyond ensuring there is appropriate necessities in the ISS to facilitate their gender specific needs? This could have easily been a similar problem if one of the astronauts was a smaller male. They are basically two nerds, one a mechanical and aerospace engineer and the other, a physicist and electrical engineer.
This past year has been one whole year of :
- First female to win Abel award... yeh... she won it because she's a she... not because she is one of the most brilliant mathematicians of the last 70 years
- All female spacewalk cancelled... yeh, they're astronauts because they're girls, not because they both achieved top marks from top schools in areas of science and engineering.
- all female..
- first woman...
I mean seriously... what's the f-ing point here? Exceptional people are exceptional people... and moron journalists are moron journalists... done.
With their lack of budget and who creates some of there products dictated by which State voted "correctly", fitting is very difficult for NASA.
They have their template suites on Earth that they use for fitting. The problem is the materials act differently that high up. The other problem is each suite is slightly different.
These suites where built between 1982 and 1986. Originally they were pretty much the same, but all hand made. Now they sometimes are repair on Earth, but other times are repaired in space with the materials available. The templates, and even the various suites just don't match anymore. Some suites they've had to bring back because they are disintegrating.
There has been a program in place to create new suites, but it has been taking a long time, particularly due to who they can work with changing every 2 years with elections, partially due to government budgets dictating what money will be spent on.
Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon what's the difference? All steal money from devs and control with walled gardens.
Astronauts change size in orbit. McClain has mentioned that she's grown by about two inches.
NASA has a *very* detailed fitting procedure for spacesuits, but final fit choice is made by the astronaut herself.
What kind of twisted, self-flagellating logic is required to see this story as sexist?
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Neither seems sexist, they are just noting the first time a particular demographic is doing something that other demographics have been doing for decades.
You are being over-sensitive.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC