"Water everywhere," NASA spacewalk called off for second time after spacesuit issue arises
As NASA aired live coverage of the Monday morning spacewalk from the International Space Station, the two spacewalking astronauts once again hadn't even left the airlock when an issue occurred, forcing an immediate cancellation.
“There’s water everywhere,” astronaut Tracy Dyson could be heard saying.
Her spacewalk partner, Mike Barratt, repeated the same statement, "There is water everywhere."
NASA quickly called off the spacewalk to ensure the astronauts' safety, ordering the crew to repressurize the airlock ? which was already at vacuum as the two had been preparing to exit into space.
After waiting for the airlock to return to sea level air pressure (14.7 psi), the two were assisted by Crew 8 astronauts Matt Dominick and Jeanette Epps while the Starliner crew, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, investigated the issue.
The two astronauts were safe, and it was heard that little residual water was located. However, this was the second spacewalk in a row during this expedition to be cancelled before it even began. This brings Crew 8 down to one last shot at a spacewalk ? which is set for Tuesday, July 2.
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Why was the spacewalk cancelled
NASA released a statement shortly after the incident, which read:
"U.S. spacewalk 90 was cancelled Monday at the International Space Station due to a water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit on NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson’s spacesuit. Dyson and Mike Barratt set their suits to battery power at 8:46 a.m. EDT and opened the hatch to the space station’s Quest airlock before reporting the water issue."
Dyson could be heard stating that she was observing ice forming on her glove and helmet during the moments following the cancellation of the spacewalk. The water was leaking from outside her suit and freezing. Still in the airlock, it had been unpressurized and the hatch was open. Without an atmosphere, temperatures outside the space station fluctuate from extreme highs to extreme lows.
Dominick was heard on the coverage telling Barratt through the hatch to the airlock that, "looking in the airlock, it looked like a snowstorm." Dominick and Epps could be seen peering through a window between the ISS and airlock, where their spacewalking crew members awaited pressurization so the hatch separating them could be opened. Due to pressure being higher in the ISS, it would be impossible to open the hatch before pressurization.
At 9:51 a.m. EDT, Dominick opened the hatch and inspected the airlock for stray water. Once cleared, he and Epps guided their crewmates back in, while Williams and Wilmore investigated the airlock and spacesuits. Wilmore took photos for crews on the ground.
Dyson and Barratt had planned to use the spacewalk to retrieve a failed communications box to bring back for repair. The two astronauts were also set to swab for microorganisms that may exist outside the ISS.
Spacewalk canceled for second time
This spacewalk comes after another cancellation on June 13.
That time as astronauts Dyson and Dominick were putting on their spacesuits, NASA said the spacewalk was scrubbed due to "spacesuit discomfort issues".
For this next spacewalk, NASA subbed out Dominick for Barratt. The reasoning is that NASA needed to cut the number of spacewalks from three to two after last week's scrub. And a spacesuit was ready for Barratt, and it would prevent the repeat of "discomfort issues.".
NASA spacesuit leaks have happened before
This is not the first time a NASA spacesuit has malfunctioned during a spacewalk.
Back in 2013, European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano was preforming a routine spacewalk when water started to fill his helmet. What was expected to be a leak from a drinking pouch quickly became worse, with water getting into Parmitano's eyes and nose. The spacewalk was quickly canceled, and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy had to guide Parmitano back to the airlock to safety.
"Imagine you're in a fish bowl," said David Korth, NASA's lead spacewalk flight director, back at the time of the incident. "So, go stick your head in a fish bowl and try to walk around, and that's not anything you would take lightly. And certainly, (spacewalking) is dangerous already."
NASA has since placed a sponge and snorkel in suits incase another leak should ever occur.
FLORIDA TODAY previously reported that the current spacesuits are the same from the shuttle program ? which began in 1983. Currently, NASA is working with Collins Aerospace to develop updated spacesuits for the space station.
Starliner return TBD
Meanwhile, the Starliner crew, Williams and Wilmore, have another extension to their stay aboard the space station. Previously slated to return on Wednesday, that date has been indefinitely pushed as teams continue to review data.
The crew is not in any danger, as NASA and Boeing are making use of the time to fully investigate the difficulties seen with the service module.
“We don’t get the service module back, so this this an opportunity to fully understand the systems performance, and without the pressure of schedule or time. We have the time,” Mark Nappi, vice president of Boeing's commercial crew program, had said during a June press conference.
The already twice-delayed return of Starliner currently does not have a new date. When it does return, the spacecraft will land in New Mexico, where it will make a parachute and airbag assisted landing ? similar to the Russian Soyuz, which also touches down on land.
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Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Astronauts safe after spacesuit leak brings ice in airlock before EVA