NASA abruptly called off a spacewalk shortly before it was set to begin Tuesday morning after receiving a notification that debris could threaten the astronauts outside the International Space Station.
The notice came just two weeks after Russia fired a missile that destroyed a dead satellite polluting low Earth orbit with more than 1,500 pieces of debris that forced the astronauts and cosmonauts to evacuate the space station and board their spacecraft in case they had to flee.
NASA did not say whether Russia's satellite strike was the cause of the debris that forced the agency to cancel the spacewalk. But ever since the incident, officials across the globe have condemned it as a wantonly reckless act that could threaten not only the space station but dozens of critical satellites in orbit.
NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron had been scheduled to step outside the orbiting laboratory about 6:10 a.m. to replace an antenna system. But on Monday evening, NASA received notification of the debris. And in a statement early Tuesday, it said: "Due to the lack of opportunity to properly assess the risk it could pose to the astronauts, teams have decided to delay the spacewalk until more information is available. The space station schedule and operations are able to easily accommodate the delay of the spacewalk."
Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics, said it was not clear if the debris from the Russia missile strike threatened the astronauts. He added that "there are plenty more [pieces] that haven't been catalogued yet."
In orbit, the space station and debris travel at about 17,500 mph. At that speed, even a small piece of debris can cause enormous damage. If the debris hit and breached the hull of the station, it could force the astronauts to abandon it and head for home, possibly leaving the $100 billion station without any astronauts on board for the first time in 20 years.
After the missile strike, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called it "outrageous" and "unconscionable," and said it was "inexplicable" that the Russians would do such a "reckless" and "dangerous" thing that endangered the lives of not only Americans on the station but Russian, as well.
The canceled spacewalk comes a day before Vice President Kamala Harris is set to oversee the first meeting of the National Space Council under the Biden administration. In a letter Monday, leading members of the Senate Commerce Committee, Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the panel's top Republican; John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., urged Harris to take action to ensure the viability of low Earth orbit.
"This recent debris-generating catastrophe raises concerns about maintaining the long-term sustainability of the space environment," they wrote. "We request that, at the upcoming National Space Council meeting, you advocate for aligning space sustainability priorities and activities across the Federal Government and work to develop international dialogue on norms of responsible behavior in space."