Monday, May 13, 2013

ISS astronauts forced to repair an ammonia leak - planet.fr

Two U.S. astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) Saturday replaced a faulty pump station to end a dangerous ammonia leak. More details on this procedure at high risk.


unheard of. Two U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) have ventured to repair a dangerous Saturday. Tom Marshburn and Chris Cassidy in effect replacing a faulty pump station to stop an ammonia leak. Both men put in a total of five and a half hours to complete their mission. NASA has indicated that the repair started at 12:44 was completed at 18:14, by tweeting: “Marshburn and Cassidy are back to the ISS”

. “No leaks! We bring Tom and Chris inside”
And while ammonia is used to cool the channels through which passes power station – produced by solar panels – about three hours after the start of their intervention, the two astronauts were able to replace the faulty pump. “The new pump is installed and working,” then immediately tweeted NASA, and an hour later, Chris Hadfield, the commander of the ISS, posted on Tweeter: “No leaks We bring Tom and Chris! inside. “

To avoid contamination, the astronauts took care to wait until the sun burns out all traces of ammonia on their suits before returning inside the station. With this unprecedented emergency mission, NASA has however stressed that “it will monitor the pump longer to determine whether replacement has stemmed the leak.”

“The arms covered with bruises and blisters on the shoulders”
NASA has also stressed that the lives of six occupants of the ISS were not at risk while assuming that the leak was “serious”. Experts say, meanwhile, that the 168th spacewalk is unprecedented because it was prepared in a very short time. The Flight Director of the Russian segment of the ISS, Vladimir Solovyov in turn reported that astronauts wear “suits that weigh more than 100 kilograms” that force them to move their arms. So, after “each output as they go after a fight with arms covered with bruises and blisters on his shoulders.”

ISS, NASA, astronauts, space


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