Space Suit Issue Prompts Delay of Second Spacewalk

NASA is delaying its second repair spacewalk by a day to replace a suit for one of its astronauts.

U.S. astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins successfully removed a faulty pump on the international space station Saturday. At least one more spacewalk is needed to install a fresh spare.

Several hours after the pump was removed, NASA pushed the second spacewalk from Monday to Tuesday — Christmas Eve — to size a new suit for Mastracchio.

At the end of Saturday's spacewalk, Mastracchio's suit was compromised when he inadvertently turned on a water switch. He wasn't in any danger, but mission control decided to switch to a backup suit.