Washington (EFE). – Two NASA astronauts began a spacewalk today to try to correct an ammonia leak in the International Space Station (ISS), announced today the U.S. space agency. As shown a video of the NASA , American astronauts Tom Marshburn and Chris Cassidy began the trek to correct the ammonia leak, discovered on February 9 in the cooling system on the space station.
NASA has scheduled a press conference at 2030 GMT to discuss the results of this operation. Both astronauts traveled to the ISS in 2009 on the shuttle Endeavour, and made a trek to replace a battery in the same area where ammonia leak identified.
Authorities said spacewalks rarely decide on a improvised-as on this occasion, but NASA wanted to inspect the cooling system and correct the fault.
According to authorities, the team of six astronauts not in danger and the ISS has enough energy for its operations, but NASA had to turn off the power source of one of the eight solar panels that supply the station. On Friday, the program director of the IEE, Michael Suffredini, said during a press conference that it is a “serious situation” but stressed that the station can operate without problems.
According Suffredini suspected ammonia leak due to space debris that interferes with a tube in the radiator. Ammonia is a key element that flows through the external thermal control systems of the station to cool and maintain the proper temperature electronics and other systems of the station.
ERA, a project of 100,000 million dollars in the fifteen countries which cooperate, orbits about 385 miles above Earth almost 27,000 kilometers per hour. Aboard the ISS are now six crew: besides Marshburn and Cassidy, the Russian Roman Romanenko, Alexander Misurkin and Pavel Vinogradov, and Canadian Chris Hadfield.
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