NASA
NASA astronauts Tracy Tyson and Mike Barrett (front, from left) in white spacesuits aborted a planned spacewalk on June 24 due to a leak in Tyson’s suit.
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Two US astronauts abandoned a planned maintenance exit from the International Space Station on Monday due to a malfunction in their spacesuits.
NASA officials aborted the spaceflight after a water leak in the cooling compartment of one of the astronauts’ shuttles.
A suit worn by NASA astronaut Tracy Tyson leaked and the suit was converted to battery power Just before they leave the space station.
The cooling unit in the spacesuits is designed to keep the wearers at a comfortable temperature while they do their work. Tyson and his crew Mike Barrett The damaged electronics box was set to be removed from the communications antenna on the outside of the space station.
“Right now, I’m comfortable, but I feel a little warm,” Tyson was heard saying on a live stream of the event at 9 a.m. ET after the spacewalk stopped.
Dyson later expressed concern that the water leak might have affected the electrical connectors.
“There’s still water coming out,” Tyson said at one point. “We can assume water got into that connector, the electrical connection.”
NASA then worked to get Tyson back into the space station from the airlock, the entrance to the exterior of the space station, while his suit remained on battery power.
According to NASA, there was no danger to the crew at any time during the incident.
The spacewalk will begin Monday morning and last about 6.5 hours, NASA said.
The delayed spacewalk is the latest in a string of setbacks surrounding the International Space Station’s operations in recent weeks.
It marks the second spacewalk in recent days that was abruptly halted by spacesuit problems.
Officials canceled a spacewalk scheduled for June 13 that included Tyson and Matthew Dominique because of Dominique’s spacesuit discomfort problem. NASA declined to provide further details on the issue to protect the astronaut’s privacy.
In addition to Monday’s aborted spacewalk, the federal agency aims to conduct another on July 2 — before Boeing’s Starliner capsule is given the green light to undock from the orbiting lab and return home.
The Starliner spacecraft has made its first crewed test mission to the space station. But the vehicle encountered several major problems during the first leg of its journey, including helium leaks and thruster failure, delaying its return.
It is not yet clear whether Monday’s decision to suspend the spacewalk will further delay the Starliner’s return.
