National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) The company said the next spacewalk has been postponed indefinitely until engineers learn more about the cause of the June 24 coolant leak.
Tracy Dyson National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) The astronaut experienced a leak in his spacesuit while inside the spacecraft hatch a month ago. International Space Station (ISS). She and Mike Barrett completed a 6.5-hour Spacewalk For maintenance activities, A shower of ice particles erupted The incident occurred at the connection between the spacesuit and the International Space Station (ISS). The spacewalk was aborted, but NASA stressed that the astronauts were not in danger.
“The spacewalk was ended early due to a leak in the suit’s maintenance and cooling umbilical cable, which connects the spacesuit to the ISS,” Dana Weigel, NASA’s space station program manager, told reporters. On a conference call Wednesday (July 17). (The astronauts’ space suits remain connected to the ISS’s life support system through their umbilical cords until just before they emerge from the hatch.)
“We’re still evaluating the cause of the leak and what needs to be done to fix it,” Weigel added. “We’ll look for the next opportunity to do a spacewalk. It’s not time-sensitive or urgent, so we’ll find the most appropriate and logical location.”
NASA’s Extravehicular Mobility Suit (EMU) was designed in the 1970s and first used on Space Shuttle mission STS-6 in April 1983. The EMU has a long and reliable flying tradition. space shuttle By spacewalk, the crew Hubble Space Telescopeand helped astronauts build the ISS.
The EMU has replaceable parts that can be replaced or repaired. However, for various reasons, it has been prone to regular coolant leaks in recent years. NASA has 7 months For example, a spacecraft was shut down in March 2022 after water was found in a spacesuit helmet, and an accident in July 2013 in which Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano’s helmet became waterlogged prompted an investigation report and a further suspension of spacewalks for several months. Filled with water During a spacewalk.
A new generation of spacesuits from NASA and private companies are being improved with more flexible materials and sizing that is gender-neutral. Biased towards larger sizes and men’s sizesThis is because it was designed at a time when most astronauts were men enlisted from the military, which was largely gender-segregated. The contract was broken The company canceled a newer ISS spacesuit design, saying the development schedule “would not support the Space Station schedule and NASA’s mission objectives.”
Related: ISS astronauts undergo “spacewalk review” after suit coolant leak
The cause of the latest leak is still unknown, but the Expedition 71 astronauts on board Hours of troubleshooting In recent weeks, NASA has confirmed that information.
NASA had originally planned to conduct three spacewalks in June and July, but I shortened it to two The June 13 spacewalk was canceled due to “spacesuit discomfort.” A revised second one was originally scheduled for July 2, but as Weigel indicated on July 17, the need for spacewalks in general will be reviewed in the coming months.
Weigel noted at the same conference that the spacewalk is one of the “dynamic activities” the ISS hosts. Such activities, which include docking and undocking of visiting craft, occur roughly every week or 10 days, she added. [or] Spacewalk, [or] “Robotics” (The ISS is equipped with several robotic arms and devices that are often controlled from the ground to perform maintenance and scientific research.)
While schedules in space are always in flux, the past few weeks have been filled with particular uncertainty regarding plans for the ISS.
Boeing Starliner The spacecraft’s first astronaut test mission to the ISS was initially postponed from May 6 because of a helium leak, but NASA and Boeing conducted extensive analysis and troubleshooting before approving the launch. (Such development efforts often involve uncertainty because the spacecraft and systems are new to launching humans.)
After arriving at the ISS on June 6, the 10-day crew flight test mission will conclude with Extend indefinitely The thruster problem delayed the docking, and Starliner maintains the ability to leave the ISS in an emergency while engineers analyze ground tests. It was held last week To better analyze the performance of the Starliner system before it is approved for a six-month operational mission as soon as 2025.
Part of NASA’s Expedition 71 crew will leave in March. SpaceXCrew 8 of SpaceX The Falcon 9 rocket is heading into space. Crew 9 was scheduled to arrive in mid-August. That timing is still in the NASA manifest, but… Falcon 9 Last week, a problem occurred in the second stage, Starlink Satellite launch.
SpaceX petitioned the FAA for permission to launch, but NASA Do your own review before allowing SpaceX to launch astronauts and cargo to the ISS (different variants of the Falcon 9 are used for astronauts and satellites).
