Spacewalk cut short because of water in astronaut’s helmet

NASA said the astronauts would use a syringe to take a water sample and retrieve the helmet absorption pad to determine what caused the leakage.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) said the termination was a precaution.

The spacewalk was expected to last a little more than six hours, according to the ESA.

His daring six-hour mission, which involved carrying out key repairs to the International Space Station (ISS), was a success as Britain swelled with pride watching from Earth.

Major Peake, writing on his blog, said he felt “exhilarated” by the prospect of walking in space, but said: ‘I have no time to dwell on these emotions.

The work site is about 200 feet from the astronauts exit, about as far as spacewalkers safely can go.Peake, in particular, received a bounty of well wishes — from space as well as Earth.

Tim Peake waves to his fellow spacewalker, Tim Kopra.

The pair will enter an airlock before opening its hatch and heading outside. The reason: It can be fabricated into a makeshift tool, if necessary, to clean debris out of a part of the space station that doesn’t always turn smoothly.

Colonel Kopra is taking the lead, heading first to the solar units that need repairing.

Major Peake also shared pictures of his “exhilarating” feat – with a selfie that was truly out of this world. They will be rigging cables in preparation for installing new docking adapters for Boeing Starliner and the SpaceX Crew Dragon.

The ESA said the early termination of the spacewalk was officially completed at 17.31 GMT.

The spacewalk officially ended after four hours and 43 minutes.

They have water to drink from pouches and can not stop for any toilet break.

Then they will be able to take off their suits and adjust to the pressure back in the station.

The operation’s main task, replacing a failed voltage regulator on the station’s truss, was completed before the problem cropped up.

Major Peake, a former Army Air Corps and helicopter test pilot, is the first Briton aboard the ISS and the first fully British professional astronaut employed by a space agency.

Previously, British astronauts have either been privately funded during their missions, or had dual citizenship. As a result, the ISS has been running on backup power for about two months.