Spacewalk aborted after water leaks into astronaut’s helmet
- 8 years ago
Two astronauts aborted their spacewalk Friday and hurried back into the International Space Station after water leaked into one of the men's helmets in a scary repeat of a near-drowning 2½ years ago.
The trouble cropped up after the astronauts - including Britain's 1st spacewalker - successfully restored full power to the space station.
Lead flight director Royce Renfrew, who called an early end to the spacewalk, stressed that the situation was not an emergency and insisted neither spacewalker was in danger.
That's nothing, NASA officials pointed out, compared with the 1 to 1½ liters of water that escaped into Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano's helmet and suit in July 2013.
Working in darkness to avoid electrical shock from the solar power system, the astronauts quickly removed the bad unit and popped in a spare, both about the size of a 30-gallon aquarium.
The trouble cropped up after the astronauts - including Britain's 1st spacewalker - successfully restored full power to the space station.
Lead flight director Royce Renfrew, who called an early end to the spacewalk, stressed that the situation was not an emergency and insisted neither spacewalker was in danger.
That's nothing, NASA officials pointed out, compared with the 1 to 1½ liters of water that escaped into Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano's helmet and suit in July 2013.
Working in darkness to avoid electrical shock from the solar power system, the astronauts quickly removed the bad unit and popped in a spare, both about the size of a 30-gallon aquarium.