Water leak in astronaut's helmet ends spacewalk
Source: Agencies |
July 17, 2013, Wednesday
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NASA aborted a spacewalk at the International Space Station yesterday because of a dangerous water leak in an astronaut's helmet.
The leak was so bad that Luca Parmitano, Italy's first spacewalker, couldn't hear or speak as the walk came to an abrupt end. He asked his spacewalking partner, Christopher Cassidy, for help getting back in.
"He looks miserable, but OK," Cassidy assured Mission Control in Houston.
The source of the leak wasn't immediately known but a likely culprit was the helmet drink bag that astronauts sip from during spacewalks, although Parmitano later reported it didn't taste like drinking water.
Before crewmates inside yanked off his helmet, Parmitano said: "It's a lot of water."
NASA seldom cuts a spacewalk short. Tuesday's problem left them with no choice. Parmitano could have choked on the floating water droplets.
The trouble cropped up barely an hour into what was to be a six-hour spacewalk to perform cable work and other routine maintenance that had stacked up over the past couple years.
It was the astronauts' second spacewalk in eight days.
Parmitano startled everyone when he announced that he felt water on the back of his head.
At first, he thought it was sweat because of all his exertion on the job. But he was repeatedly assured it was not sweat. Cassidy said it might be water from his drink bag; it looked like a half-liter of water had leaked out.
The water eventually got into Parmitano's eyes. That's when NASA ordered the men back inside. The water got into his nose and mouth, and he had trouble hearing on the radio lines.
Cassidy cleaned up the work site once Parmitano was back in the air lock, before joining him back in the space station.
The four astronauts who anxiously monitored the drama from inside hustled to remove Parmitano's helmet.
Parmitano looked relatively fine on NASA TV as he gestured with his hands to show his crewmates where the water had crept over his head.
Mission Control praised the crew for its fast effort and scheduled a radio hookup with surgeons. Engineers, meanwhile, scrambled to determine the source of the leak.
The leak was so bad that Luca Parmitano, Italy's first spacewalker, couldn't hear or speak as the walk came to an abrupt end. He asked his spacewalking partner, Christopher Cassidy, for help getting back in.
"He looks miserable, but OK," Cassidy assured Mission Control in Houston.
The source of the leak wasn't immediately known but a likely culprit was the helmet drink bag that astronauts sip from during spacewalks, although Parmitano later reported it didn't taste like drinking water.
Before crewmates inside yanked off his helmet, Parmitano said: "It's a lot of water."
NASA seldom cuts a spacewalk short. Tuesday's problem left them with no choice. Parmitano could have choked on the floating water droplets.
The trouble cropped up barely an hour into what was to be a six-hour spacewalk to perform cable work and other routine maintenance that had stacked up over the past couple years.
It was the astronauts' second spacewalk in eight days.
Parmitano startled everyone when he announced that he felt water on the back of his head.
At first, he thought it was sweat because of all his exertion on the job. But he was repeatedly assured it was not sweat. Cassidy said it might be water from his drink bag; it looked like a half-liter of water had leaked out.
The water eventually got into Parmitano's eyes. That's when NASA ordered the men back inside. The water got into his nose and mouth, and he had trouble hearing on the radio lines.
Cassidy cleaned up the work site once Parmitano was back in the air lock, before joining him back in the space station.
The four astronauts who anxiously monitored the drama from inside hustled to remove Parmitano's helmet.
Parmitano looked relatively fine on NASA TV as he gestured with his hands to show his crewmates where the water had crept over his head.
Mission Control praised the crew for its fast effort and scheduled a radio hookup with surgeons. Engineers, meanwhile, scrambled to determine the source of the leak.
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