Spacewalk Cut Short After Suit Malfunctions

Two astronauts had to abruptly end their spacewalk outside the International Space Station when mission control operators realized one of them had a spacesuit glitch, Space.com reports. Astronaut Chris Cassidy, making his first spacewalk, was told to abandon his battery replacement work on the station because carbon dioxide levels inside his suit were rising. NASA believes the suit's CO2 scrubbing system malfunctioned.

Cassidy was never in any danger and didn't suffer any ill effects, according to NASA, but the mission was cut short as a precaution. "A spacesuit is a very small spacecraft and there's really not very much margin for error," said the station's flight director. Cassidy will be out in space for his second walk tomorrow, when the station's final four solar batteries will be replaced.
(More spacewalk stories.)