Space
NASA’s Astronaut Chris Cassidy Explains Spacesuit Water Leak [VIDEO]
Benita Matilda
First Posted: Aug 01, 2013 08:10 AM EDT
On July 16 a planned six-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station was abruptly aborted within an hour as water started gathering insider the Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano's helmet making it hard for him to hear and see. The malfunction caused panic all around.
Parmitano, the first Italian astronaut to walk in space, was accompanied by NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy during the spacewalk, which was their second in a week. Initially, Parmitano was under the impression that the water came from his drink bag, and he immediately emptied the water bag. But when more water started collecting into his helmet, they quickly ended the spacewalk. The cause of the leak was not known immediately.
AS NASA is still trying to check what exactly caused such a terrible malfunction where Parmitano's hemet was filled up like a fishbowl, astronaut Cassidy aboard ISS has released a video revealing the source of the water that slipped into the helmet and describes the mishap as a an extremely scary situation.
In the video, Cassidy explains that the real issue cropped up from the spacesuit's cooling system. The cooling water leaked into the ventilation system, which made its way into the helmet covering his nose, mouth and ears. It even saturated his communication cap.
"In the back of the helmet's neck hole, slightly to the left side of the body, there's a slit in the rim that allows air to go through. This port links to the ventilation system, which blows air over the astronaut's face," Cassidy explains in the video. "Somehow, water leaked out and made its way through that slit and into the helmet, where it began to collect in a kind of hard white plastic lining behind Parmitano's head, soaking his hair. Soon, the water began to spill over the white plastic and float inside the helmet, raising the risk of drowning in the suit."
Parmitano feels he was lucky to have made it back inside in no time. Cassidy says that if the water had continued to leak it would have proved disastrous.
A team of engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston are investigating the water leak.
"The mishap investigation board will look more broadly at past operations and maintenance, quality assurance, aspects of flight control and other organizational facto. The board's responsibility is to make observations and recommendations that can be applied to improve the safety of all of NASA's human spaceflight activities," said NASA officials.
Cassidy concluded saying, "The most important thing is that the suits are determined to be safe. So that whenever the next folks get outside, that everything works well for them."
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First Posted: Aug 01, 2013 08:10 AM EDT
On July 16 a planned six-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station was abruptly aborted within an hour as water started gathering insider the Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano's helmet making it hard for him to hear and see. The malfunction caused panic all around.
Parmitano, the first Italian astronaut to walk in space, was accompanied by NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy during the spacewalk, which was their second in a week. Initially, Parmitano was under the impression that the water came from his drink bag, and he immediately emptied the water bag. But when more water started collecting into his helmet, they quickly ended the spacewalk. The cause of the leak was not known immediately.
AS NASA is still trying to check what exactly caused such a terrible malfunction where Parmitano's hemet was filled up like a fishbowl, astronaut Cassidy aboard ISS has released a video revealing the source of the water that slipped into the helmet and describes the mishap as a an extremely scary situation.
In the video, Cassidy explains that the real issue cropped up from the spacesuit's cooling system. The cooling water leaked into the ventilation system, which made its way into the helmet covering his nose, mouth and ears. It even saturated his communication cap.
"In the back of the helmet's neck hole, slightly to the left side of the body, there's a slit in the rim that allows air to go through. This port links to the ventilation system, which blows air over the astronaut's face," Cassidy explains in the video. "Somehow, water leaked out and made its way through that slit and into the helmet, where it began to collect in a kind of hard white plastic lining behind Parmitano's head, soaking his hair. Soon, the water began to spill over the white plastic and float inside the helmet, raising the risk of drowning in the suit."
Parmitano feels he was lucky to have made it back inside in no time. Cassidy says that if the water had continued to leak it would have proved disastrous.
A team of engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston are investigating the water leak.
"The mishap investigation board will look more broadly at past operations and maintenance, quality assurance, aspects of flight control and other organizational facto. The board's responsibility is to make observations and recommendations that can be applied to improve the safety of all of NASA's human spaceflight activities," said NASA officials.
Cassidy concluded saying, "The most important thing is that the suits are determined to be safe. So that whenever the next folks get outside, that everything works well for them."
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone