Two NASA astronauts encountered a small ammonia leak and sustained very minor glove damage during a Friday (Nov. 6) spacewalk around the worldwide Space Station’s exterior.
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At 7:10 a.m. EST the astronauts left the station and planned to finish the extra planetary plumbing within six and a half hours, though were prepared to stay out longer if need be.
Kelly and Lindgren disconnected a spare cooling system which had been used since 2012 to circumvent an ammonia leak in one of the station’s eight primary cooling loops.
Kelly and Lindgren reported that there were icy ammonia flakes chipping off from the work site and floating away into space as they open and shut the valves on the pump.
Initially, there were concerns about the possibilities of any spacesuit contamination, but later they have followed certain procedures to remove any traces of ammonia from the suit by exposing to the Sunday. Although there have been more than 365 NASA astronauts to date, there remains firsts to be achieved and all that you have to do to claim them is get chosen for the corps. Friday’s outing aims to complete the final repairs to a system that broke down about three years ago. It even involved the return of ammonia levels to their desired intensity in the prime as well as the backup systems. They worked together synchronizing their actions to add ammonia to the port-side station cooling systems.
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Now, Lindgren and Kelly have a half-day break to recover before getting back to work. It also marked Kelly’s 224th consecutive day in orbit, already a USA record. “I’ll be back w you again soon!”
One-Year crew member Mikhail Kornienko explored his fine motor skills and studied cardiac bioelectric activity at rest.
This also marks the 190th spacewalk outside the station.
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After two grueling years, those who pass all the courses become astronauts while those who don’t are offered other posts in the agency.
