Russian Spacewalk Is Canceled Due to Coolant Leak

A spacewalk by two Russian astronauts aboard the International Space Station was canceled at the last minute after controllers noticed a spray of white particles.

The astronauts, Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitriy Petelin, had already suited up and depressurized an airlock when their mission was called off. The time is eastern.

They were preparing for a six-and-a-half hour spacewalk before flight controllers in Moscow and Houston noticed a leak from the Russian module of the space station.

NASA said that the problem was a leak in the system. There was a stream of white particles spraying from the side of the spaceship.

The astronauts and the rest of the crew of the space station were not at risk because of the leak.

Russian specialists are evaluating the fluid and potential impacts to the integrity of the space shuttle. The astronauts arrived at the International Space Station in September. In the case of an emergency, it will be used as a life boat for the space station.

Mr. Prokopyev and Mr. Petelin were going to use Wednesday's spacewalk to move a radiators from one module to another. According to NASA, their spacewalk was delayed because of faulty cooling pumps. A request for comment from the Russian space agency was not responded to.

After Russia blew up one of its old satellites in space, a spacewalk by two Americans was delayed. The first all-female spacewalk was called off because NASA didn't have space suits that fit the two astronauts.