NASA has stopped all space walks until the source of a smoky smell inside a space suit being tested on Earth is found. There’s a massively comprehensive report on MSNBC starting from an obscure paragraph in an International Space Station status report (follow up from AP, Houston Chronicle, Orlando Sentinel).

As yet no signs of burning have been found in the suit. But if the suits remain out of service some crucial space walks and assembly of the ISS will be delayed.

Here is the relevant part of the NASA report:

EMU Spacesuit Troubleshooting: During a SSATA (Space Station Airlock Test Article) chamber run on the ground this past Friday, a crew member reported the smell of smoke inside the EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit). The run was terminated, and the crew member extracted without incident. A mishap investigation board was formed and has recommended that all life support system operations (power, O2 ops, etc.) for the on-orbit EMUs be terminated until a root cause can be determined. Thus, the on-orbit EMUs are No Go. All other ops, such as suit resizing, can be performed.

Image: Space suit training / NASA