Science News

NASA: Spacewalks Urgently Needed to Fix International Space Station

NASA: Spacewalks Urgently Needed to Fix International Space Station
Bernadine Racoma

NASA station managers issued an order on Tuesday for two American astronauts to set out for a series of spacewalks in order to replace a broken cooling pump valve at the International Space Station. The job will require at least three spacewalks to be undertaken on Saturday, Monday and on Wednesday, which is Christmas Day.

Pump not functioning

The two astronauts who will carry out the critical assignment are Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio. They will begin working outside the station on December 21 and proceed to do spacewalks on December 23 and 25. To complete the task, the two astronauts will need to take out the pump. Total replacement is necessary since the pump has not been functioning since December 11. The space station pump is responsible in the distribution of ammonia through the coils found outside the station for the purpose of cooling the equipment. The station is still working although its performances could not be sustained long enough due to the defective cooling system.

Serious problem

Rick Mastracchio, one of the two astronauts set out for the spacewalks, said the problem is serious and it must be addressed immediately to avoid further damage. He said however that the malfunctioning orbiting lab does not really worry him since there has been no significant effect on the situation at the space station.

Powered down

The activities usually done in the station consist of simple science experiments and some upgrades in the systems but because of the cooling system issues, they have to be powered down in the meantime. Mastracchio is an experienced astronaut and a member of the six-man crew who are working and staying at the space station. His present assignment gives him the fourth chance to spaceflight. The other members of the Expedition 38 crew are Mikhail Tyurin, Sergey Ryazanskiy and Oleg Kotov of Russia and Koichi Wakata of Japan.

Triggered by bad valve

The space station’s cooling system began to have hiccups when a couple of its cooling valves located in the orbiting area stopped working after the temperature went very low. It could have been triggered by a bad valve in one of the pumps located at the station’s main truss. NASA engineers have been analyzing the problem since Wednesday and realized it needs to be replaced already.

Space cargo delivery

While NASA is busy with deliberations on the slated spacewalks, the Orbital Sciences Corporation, a commercial spaceflight company is scheduled to launch Cygnus, an unmanned spacecraft that will carry cargo for the first time to the space station. The Orbital Sciences Corporation has a $1.9 billion worth of eight-delivery space transport contract with NASA. Included in the cargo delivery are some special foods, treats, new clothes and other surprises from the astronauts’ families back home.

Artificial satellite

The ISS or International Space Station is an artificial satellite hovering above the earth’s orbit. It is a habitable space station manned by astronaut crewmembers from the United States, Russia and Japan. Being the biggest artificial figure in space, it is visible to the naked eye and appears like an illuminated planet or star from the earth. The ISS functions as a space environment and microgravity laboratory where researches, studies and experiments are conducted on physics, astronomy, meteorology, biology and other scientific disciplines.

Photo Credit: Astronaut in free space

Comment Below
Science News

More in Science News

stone structures

Google Earth Helps Archaeologists Discover Hundreds of Ancient Stone Structures

Brian OasterOctober 24, 2017
Eclipse

The Total Solar Eclipse and Its Aftermath

Brian OasterAugust 22, 2017
Antikythera Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism: Astro-Time Computer Remembered

Denise RecaldeMay 17, 2017
faucet

A Solar Purification System for Contaminated Water

Brian OasterMay 4, 2017
mars-2051748_1280

Hawking Says Only 100 Years to Leave Earth for Another Planet

Denise RecaldeMay 3, 2017
cave-2196631_1280

No Bones? Ancient Human DNA Collected From Dirt

Denise RecaldeApril 27, 2017
mastomys-491576_1280

Mice Have Been Living Off Humans for Some 15,000 Years

Denise RecaldeMarch 28, 2017
dna-1903318_1280

Scientists Experiment With Storing Computer Data In DNA

Denise RecaldeMarch 2, 2017
dish

Scientists Pinpoint Galaxy That Emitted Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts

Denise RecaldeJanuary 4, 2017

Day News Corporation

415 Madison Avenue, 15th Floor, New York City, NY 10017

(212) 537-6123

Latest Tweets

DayNewsCo @DayNewsCo

Could not authenticate you.