An EVA is dangerous business for a number of different reasons. The primary one is collision with debris. Orbital velocity at 300km above the Earth (typical for a Space Shuttle mission) is 7.7km/sec. This is 10 times the speed of a bullet, so the kinetic energy of a particle as small as a fleck of paint or a grain of sand is equal to that of a bullet with a mass that is 100 times as large! Every space mission creates more orbiting debris, so this problem will continue to become worse.
Scientists are developing tele-operated robots for outside construction work, to eliminate the need for EVAs.
See also MMU.
External link: http://spaceboy.nasda.go.jp/note/yujin/e/yuj101_eva_e
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