In another shocking space incident coming alongside reported issues with the Boeing Starliner astronauts are relying on to get home, two US astronauts planning to exit the International Space Station for a maintenance-focused spacewalk had to cancel the walk due to a spacesuit malfunction, with the cooling unit on one of their suits springing a leak just before they were to exit.
According to NASA, which admitted to the incident, the suit worn by NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson sprang a leak just after the suits of the two astronauts transferred to battery power as they prepared to exit the space station. The cooling unit that malfunctioned is meant to keep the astronauts at a comfortable temperature in the hostile environment of space as they work.
The two were to go on the spacewalk to fix a faulty electronics box. The electronics box came from a communications antenna on the space station’s exterior, but ended up not being able to do so because of the suit issues.
Dyson could be heard saying, in the live stream of the spacewalk event that ended up being called off, after the suit malfunctioned and the cooling unit failed, “Right now, I’m comfortable, but I do feel a little warm.” Dyson added that the water from the cooling unit might have impacted the electrical connectors. “There’s still water shooting out,” Dyson said. Dyson continued, “We can assume that water got into that connector, electrical connector.”
After Dyson’s suit failed, they had to act quickly to get back inside the space station from the airlock, the unit that lets them exit the space station without destroying it by transitioning from the pressurized space station to the vacuum of space. NASA claimed, however, that no members of the crew were in any danger despite the issue.
Watch the NASA coverage here:
This wasn’t the first issue involving space suits recently. On June 13, another spacewalk involving Dyson and another astronaut, Matthew Dominick, had to be canceled due to “a spacesuit discomfort issue” with Dominick’s spacesuit. In that incident, no other details about what went wrong with the suit were provided by NASA.
Additionally, as the American Tribune reported recently, two astronauts have been on the space station for longer than planned due to issues with the Boeing Starliner, the capsule used to get them to the space station. The American Tribune reported:
According to recent reports, two NASA astronauts encountered complications on their Boeing Starliner when attempting to return to Earth. As the spacecraft has had numerous issues, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have had their reentry delayed three times while engineers are Scrambling to resolve the problems. Meanwhile, the astronauts are stuck on the International Space Station (ISS).
Further complicating Wilmore and Williams’s predicament, they have a 45-day window to return to Earth as the Starliner craft is currently docked to the Harmon module, which has limited fuel supplies. Therefore, officials explained that there is a narrowing window to bring the duo safely back home.
Reports indicate that the Starline has endured five helium leaks along with five thrusters that have suddenly stopped working. Boeing, already dealing with numerous controversies regarding the quality control of its products, is facing intense scrutiny following the Starliner’s problems in outer space.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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