Tim Peake made history on Friday by becoming the first British astronaut to officially step outside an orbiting craft and undertake a spacewalk.

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Peake's mission to replace a failed electrical box on the International Space Station was successful but the walk had to be cut short when his fellow astronaut, American Colonel Tim Kopra, discovered a water globule two inches wide inside his helmet.

After sampling the liquid Kopra found it was cold, suggesting a leak in his space suit's cooling system, something that in the past has led to a life-threatening situation when an astronaut's view was obscured by the water.

Nasa cut short the spacewalk, which was originally scheduled to last for six and a half hours, and the two astronauts returned safely to the ISS after four hours and 43 minutes outside.

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Neither seemed too phased by the unexpected turn of events, with Peake later sharing his excitement at the "exhilarating" experience on Twitter and thanking Nasa's ground crew for their help.

Authors

Paul Jones, RadioTimes.com
Paul JonesExecutive Editor, RadioTimes.com
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