Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Aviation and Space Agency NASA decided to postpone space travel because there was a debris warning at one of the outposts.
Astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron are scheduled to leave the International Space Station, or ISS, for a six-and-a-half-hour space journey.
The trip was intended to replace one of the damaged radio communication antennas. They will fix the frame structure of Port 1 (P1), where the antenna is mounted.
The antenna recently lost its ability to send signals to Earth via NASA’s Data Tracking and Relay Satellite System.
Marshburn will position himself at the end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm, in collaboration with Barron. Meanwhile, astronaut Matthias Maurer of the ESA (European Space Agency) will control the robotic arm from inside the ISS.
The postponement of space travel was announced via the ISS Twitter account.
The trip was supposed to be Barron’s debut trip, and his fifth for Marshburn.
Last November Russia destroyed one of its own satellites in a missile test, generating a cloud of debris that NASA says has “increased the risk to the station.”
The debris forced the seven crew members on the ISS to temporarily shelter on their ship back. NASA said the greatest risk occurred in the first 24 hours after the test.
It is not yet clear whether the reason for the delay in the trip of Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron is related to the debris created by the Russian satellite test or not.
Russia itself has refuted US accusations that their tests have jeopardized the ISS.
US authorities said they were not informed in advance about the planned test of the Russian satellite.
The space mission to repair the function of the antenna is rescheduled for Thursday (2/12) US time.
(AFP/FJR)
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