After incident: NASA extravehicular activity to resume in early 2025
NASA's extravehicular activities on the ISS are to continue next year. They were halted following an incident in June.
Shortly before the incident on June 24: Astronauts Mike Baratt and Tracy C. Dyson in their – – spacesuits developed decades ago.
(Image: NASA)
Following an incident with a leaking spacesuit in June, NASA's extravehicular activities with suits on the ISS space station are to continue at the beginning of 2025. This was stated by Bill Spetch, Operations and Integration Manager at NASA, at a NASA press conference a few days ago. However, the right time is "a question of time".
The incident in question occurred on June 24: a six-and-a-half-hour extravehicular activity by astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt was scheduled for that day, NASA wrote in a short press release. They actually wanted to carry out maintenance work on the ISS. After opening the door to the Quest airlock, they suddenly noticed that ice crystals were leaking from the Service and Cooling Umbilical (SCU) of Dyson's suit. The SCU is a tube that is used to regulate the temperature of the spacesuits, among other things. According to NASA, the leaking liquid was water. The mission was then immediately aborted. A hose and a seal were replaced, reports Space.com. The suit is now also operational again.
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The model of the space suit in question was developed back in the 1970s and was first used in the 1980s during the space shuttle program. The incident in June was not the only one of its kind; there were also incidents in 2022 and 2013 in which astronauts noticed water in their helmets. NASA also wants to rely on private industry to develop new suits in the future. The Russian space agency uses its own model called Orlan.
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