NASA canceled a planned 6.5-7 hour spacewalk at the International Space Station due to a water leak in astronaut Tracy Dyson's spacesuit cooling unit. The leak was detected before exiting the airlock, with astronaut Mike Barratt reporting water and ice crystals.
Both astronauts were safe, and the leak was resolved within 45 minutes by reconnecting the umbilical unit.
The mission was slated to remove a faulty communications box and collect microbe samples.
NASA will investigate the source of the leak before rescheduling the spacewalk.
This was the second canceled spacewalk for NASA this month, with another on June 13 also cancelled due to spacesuit problems.
Previous incidents of water leaks from spacesuits have occurred during spacewalks, including a potentially life-threatening situation for ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano in 2013.
The ISS hatch was repressurized so astronauts could get out of their suits.
NASA assured that the astronauts were safe despite the spacesuit issues and are cleared to come home in an emergency.
Little residual water was found, and ice formed on Dyson's glove and helmet post-cancellation due to extreme temperature fluctuations outside the space station.
NASA and Boeing are investigating helium leaks in the Starliner spacecraft, and the Starliner crew's return date was postponed indefinitely for further investigation, with the landing planned for New Mexico.
Sources: NYTimes, CNN, Futurism, ABC News, Republic World, India TV News, Yahoo News, LatestLY, Town of La Ronge, ClickOrlando, Digital Trends, Aviation Week, Florida Today, WFTV, Space.com
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.
