Space
NASA Reports International Space Station Radiator Leak May Need Emergency Space Walk
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: May 10, 2013 10:18 AM EDT
Houston, we have a problem. Astronauts on the International Space Station have discovered an ammonia leak in a loop that cools the power system attached to one of the orbiting lab's eight huge solar arrays. Now, NASA is looking into the problem, though there's currently no danger to the crew.
"It's a serious situation, but between crew and experts on the ground, it appears to have been stabilized," wrote space station Commander, Chris Hadfield, via Twitter on Thursday. "Tomorrow we find out for certain."
The problem itself isn't unprecedented. A minor leak of ammonia was actually first noticed in 2007 and since then, NASA has continued to monitor the issue. In fact, two astronauts took a spacewalk in November 2012 in an attempt to fix the problem. They rewired some coolant lines and installed a spare radiator due to fears that the original radiator was damaged by a micrometeorite impact, according to Discovery News.
"It's in the same area, but we don't know whether it's the same leak," said NASA spokesman Kelly Humpries in an interview with Space.com.
The leak also plagued the space station in 2010. At the time, an electrical short shut down one of the two 780-pound pumps that move liquid ammonia through the orbiting lab's pipes. Because of this, the station's cooling system was at half-strength for two weeks until astronauts replaced the pump after a series of spacewalks.
Currently, NASA officials are planning to utilize the station's robotic arm in order to better pinpoint the location of the leak. They will potentially move the robotic arm to the area of the port truss, the scaffolding-like backbone of the station, according to Discovery News.
Yet the leak may not just have implications for the solar panels. Since three of the astronauts are due to return to Earth on Monday, May 13, after their five-month stint on the station, it's important to actually fix the issue. Even so, astronaut Doug Wheelock from Mission Control believes that it shouldn't impede the return of the astronauts.
"We don't see anything technically that we can't overcome with the undocking, but we are still getting our arms fully around that issue," said Wheelock in an interview with Discovery News.
NASA is continuing to monitor the situation, and an emergency spacewalk may be a possibility, according to Fox News.
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First Posted: May 10, 2013 10:18 AM EDT
Houston, we have a problem. Astronauts on the International Space Station have discovered an ammonia leak in a loop that cools the power system attached to one of the orbiting lab's eight huge solar arrays. Now, NASA is looking into the problem, though there's currently no danger to the crew.
"It's a serious situation, but between crew and experts on the ground, it appears to have been stabilized," wrote space station Commander, Chris Hadfield, via Twitter on Thursday. "Tomorrow we find out for certain."
The problem itself isn't unprecedented. A minor leak of ammonia was actually first noticed in 2007 and since then, NASA has continued to monitor the issue. In fact, two astronauts took a spacewalk in November 2012 in an attempt to fix the problem. They rewired some coolant lines and installed a spare radiator due to fears that the original radiator was damaged by a micrometeorite impact, according to Discovery News.
"It's in the same area, but we don't know whether it's the same leak," said NASA spokesman Kelly Humpries in an interview with Space.com.
The leak also plagued the space station in 2010. At the time, an electrical short shut down one of the two 780-pound pumps that move liquid ammonia through the orbiting lab's pipes. Because of this, the station's cooling system was at half-strength for two weeks until astronauts replaced the pump after a series of spacewalks.
Currently, NASA officials are planning to utilize the station's robotic arm in order to better pinpoint the location of the leak. They will potentially move the robotic arm to the area of the port truss, the scaffolding-like backbone of the station, according to Discovery News.
Yet the leak may not just have implications for the solar panels. Since three of the astronauts are due to return to Earth on Monday, May 13, after their five-month stint on the station, it's important to actually fix the issue. Even so, astronaut Doug Wheelock from Mission Control believes that it shouldn't impede the return of the astronauts.
"We don't see anything technically that we can't overcome with the undocking, but we are still getting our arms fully around that issue," said Wheelock in an interview with Discovery News.
NASA is continuing to monitor the situation, and an emergency spacewalk may be a possibility, according to Fox News.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone