Female astronaut at centre of spacesuit row speaks out

The female astronaut at the centre of a row over spacesuit sizes has said the first all-women spacewalk was cancelled at her recommendation.

Anne McClain was due to join Christina Koch for the female-spacewalk-cancelled-after-spacesuit-blunder-11675431">first all-female spacewalk from the International Space Station on Friday, but had to pull out because there were not enough medium-sized suits.

Ms McClain was swapped out for male astronaut Nick Hague.

The astronaut has now explained that she thought the larger spacesuit would be fine for the assignment, but then decided she would need a smaller fit.

She tweeted: "This decision was based on my recommendation.

"Leaders must make tough calls, and I am fortunate to work with a team who trusts my judgement.

"We must never accept a risk that can instead be mitigated. Safety of the crew and execution of the mission come first."

Image:Anne McClain gestures as she boards the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft

NASA said there is more than one medium-sized spacesuit on the ISS but it would not be ready by Friday.

Spacewalks have been either entirely male or a mix of male and female, but never all female.

There is no new date set for the next attempt at an all-female spacewalk.

Ms McClain also clarified that nothing had been "cancelled or postponed" because the work of each walk would still go ahead.

She said: "Tune in - history is made every day up here!"

Ms Koch was chosen to complete the spacewalk because it will be the first of her career.