Commander: Spacewalk Needed To Repair Ammonia Leak On Space Station
WASHINGTON (CBSMiami/AP) — A spacewalk will most likely be necessary to fix an ammonia leak on aboard the International Space Station, the commander said Friday.
NASA said the crew is preparing for a "possible" spacewalk and that a decision on whether to go ahead with it is likely to come late Friday.
The outpost's commander Chris Hadfield of Canada calls the situation serious, but not life-threatening.
The six-member crew on Thursday noticed white flakes of ammonia leaking out of the station. NASA helped find the leak with external cameras while the crew used hand-held cameras pointed out of windows.
The leak is in a cooling loop in a solar array that has leaked before. NASA said crew members tried to fix a leak in November. It's unclear whether this is the same leak or a new one.
Ammonia runs through multiple radiator loops to cool the station's power system. NASA said the leak is increasing from one previously leaking loop that can be bypassed if needed. NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs said engineers are working on rerouting electronics just in case the loop shuts down. The Earth-orbiting station has backup systems.
The space station always has enough emergency escape ships for the crew, but there are no plans to use them.
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