A spacewalk at the International Space Station was called off NASA on Tuesday after experts concluded that a shard of space junk may be dangerous for the station and the astronauts. This is the first time in the history of space travel when a spacewalk has been cancelled due to orbiting debris.

The Mission Control of the International Space Station learned on Monday night that a piece of space junk may come close to the astronauts, who were scheduled to replace a faulty antenna outside. The two astronauts were from the United States.

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According to reports from Associated Press, experts did not have enough time to assess the situation and were forced to delay the spacewalk for at least a few days.

The International Space Station — including the seven crew members on board– faced increased risk since two nearly two weeks after Russia blew up an old satellite in Earth’s orbit. However, it was not immediately clear whether the object of concern was part of the Russian satellite wreckage.

Kayla Barron and Tom Marshburn — arrived at the space station earlier this month– reportedly faced a 7% greater risk of a spacewalk puncture.

During a news conference Monday, NASA officials said the November 15 missile test resulted in at least 1,700 satellite pieces big enough to track, and thousands more too small to be observed from the ground but still able to pierce a spacewalker’s suit.

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The situation also strained diplomatic relations between the United States and Russia.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken slammed Russia for conducting the test and said that the country, “despite its claims of opposing the weaponization of outer space, is willing to imperil the exploration and use of outer space by all nations through its reckless and irresponsible behaviour”, according to reports from Associated Press.