CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA has moved up the first all-female spacewalk to this week because of a power system failure at the International Space Station.
Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will now venture out Thursday or Friday, instead of next Monday.
A battery power controller failed over the weekend, prompting the change. The women will replace the broken component, rather than install new batteries, which was their original job.
[RELATED: SpaceX launches latest mission after ISS solves electrical problems | Power issue delays SpaceX space station supply launch from Cape Canaveral]
Last week, astronauts conducted two spacewalks to replace old space station batteries. They have three more spacewalks to go to finish the battery work. A battery-swapping spacewalk scheduled for Wednesday has been called off.
This will be the first spacewalk by only women in more than a half-century of spacewalking.
NASA says the six station astronauts remain safe, despite the failure.