Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Space Station Crew Prepare For Emergency Spacewalk

Posted by Soulskill on from the time-to-separate-the-saucer-section dept.

astroengine writes "After the discovery of an ammonia coolant leak supplying one of the solar arrays on Thursday (video), International Space Station managers have decided to plan for an unscheduled spacewalk on Saturday to repair the problem. The final decision about whether to go ahead with the extravehicular activity will be made late on Friday. 'Good Morning, Earth! Big change in plans, spacewalk tomorrow, Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn are getting suits and airlock ready. Cool!', tweeted the Space Station's Expedition 35 Commander, Chris Hadfield, on hearing the news an emergency EVA may be required of his crew. 'The whole team is ticking like clockwork, readying for tomorrow. I am so proud to be Commander of this crew. Such great, capable, fun people.'"

25 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. Howard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Good think Wolowitz isn't up there, or he'd be freaking out.

    1. Re:Howard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah he'd have an "ammonia leak" in his pants.....

  2. Live Footage! by GreggBz · · Score: 4, Funny

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufsrgE0BYf0

    1. Re:Live Footage! by david.given · · Score: 2

      In order for the station to reenter, you'd have to change its orbital velocity by a substantial amount. The interwebs suggests that it's about 150m/s (that's about 300 mph for the metrically challenged).

      To change the ISS's velocity that much in a single impact would destroy the entire station. I don't even think the ISS is capable of being deorbited without additional hardware; the Progress supply drones it currently uses to adjust its orbit carry very little thruster fuel. (Just enough to deorbit the Progress itself, plus some spare.)

      Personally, the main bit which caused me to roll my eyes is right at the beginning, where the two astronauts admire the sunset, tumbling uncontrollably, while facing in entirely the wrong direction...

    2. Re:Live Footage! by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

      Personally, the main bit which caused me to roll my eyes is right at the beginning, where the two astronauts admire the sunset, tumbling uncontrollably, while facing in entirely the wrong direction...

      Don't be surprised if you find the scene and that bit of dialogue to be half-a-movie apart in the actual film.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  3. Everything is hard in space by Gothmolly · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You can't have regular solar panels; you need ammonia-cooled solar panels. You can't simply walk out and fix it, there's no air. You can't use a wrench, because conservation of momentum means you rotate around the bolt. And after all that and you fix it, a piece of junk from a Chinese satellite killer takes you and your new solar panel out.

    This is why we're still whizzing around in LEO. Imagine doing this crap 100 million miles away when you can't "just" get more ammonia if you really needed it.

    --
    I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
    1. Re:Everything is hard in space by jklovanc · · Score: 4, Informative

      You can't use a wrench, because conservation of momentum means you rotate around the bolt.

      Unless you have something to hold you, like the Canadarm, or hold onto something to stop your rotation. Using a wrench is space is more complex but not impossible.

    2. Re:Everything is hard in space by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 2

      "Everything is hard in space"

      Two things about that.

      First, I would like to point out that while it may be hard, I would not call this, as OP does, an "emergency". The leak was already known, and there are backup systems in place. This is a precautionary measure, not an "emergency", unless by that you mean they will "emerge" from the airlock.

      Second, the fact that "everything is hard in space" is precisely why we should establish a base on the moon. A gravity well makes a HUGE difference in how difficult it is to perform work. And the fact that it's a shallow gravity well is also of huge importance to future outward expansion.

    3. Re:Everything is hard in space by bruce_the_loon · · Score: 2

      Exactly. NASA's definition of an emergency spacewalk is one that wasn't on the schedule a month in advance and that nobody has practiced for in the giant swimming pool. It's something that needs to be done quickly before they lose too much coolant, but it isn't an emergency in the sense of "Roll Engine Company 3 and 4 and bring the long ladder trucks"

      --
      Trying to become famous by taking photos. Visit my homepage please.
  4. I know NASA needs the money but geeze... by magusxxx · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This isn't some sort of paid stunt to promote Sandra Bullock / George Clooney's latest movie is it?

    --
    Care killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.
  5. Raw Egg by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just pop the radiator cap and drop in a raw egg; that'll stop the leak. For awhile. But hurry up and dump this lemon on an unsuspecting buyer, quick.

  6. Re:Unscheduled != Emergency by Jabrwock · · Score: 2

    Not every emergency requires in a split-second decision. Sometimes you actually have time to check the checklist, which usually has helpful steps to keep things calm while you deal with the situation. In this case, it's an emergency in that if they don't get it fixed soon, they are screwed. But not an "OMFG bail out" kind of emergency.

    --
    Magic doesn't work in my presence. My power of disbelief is too strong.
  7. Videos from the ISS by lehphyro · · Score: 4, Informative

    A little bit off-topic, but worth mentioning, Chris Hadfield has been recording interesting short videos from the ISS about how's life over there: http://www.youtube.com/user/canadianspaceagency

    1. Re:Videos from the ISS by CastrTroy · · Score: 2

      My kids really enjoyed the one about vomiting in space.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  8. LaForge Maneuver by Triv · · Score: 2

    Didn't they solve this problem on TNG? All you need to do to cope with a coolant leak is have everybody roll energetically under the descending emergency door that's sealing the affected area off.

    http://epicgeordi.ytmnd.com/

    (in case it isn't obvious, that link is loud, obnoxious and on a loop.)

  9. Time to worry! by sizzzzlerz · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just a moment...just a moment...I've just picked up a fault in the AE-35 ammonia distribution unit. It's going to go a hundred percent failure within 72 hours.

  10. P.R. by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I find it amusing that the best P.R. man NASA has had in recent years (Chris Hadfield) is not American.

  11. Re:Unscheduled != Emergency by CohibaVancouver · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The point is, in an emergency there is no checklist

    Hey Anonymous Coward, there sure as hell is. The whole point of a checklist is you remain calm and 'work the problem.'

    If you're in the cockpit of a 747 and the engines flame out at 35K feet the first thing you do is grab your checklist.

  12. Re:Unscheduled != Emergency by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well, jklovanc is getting hammered by the mods, but he has a point. We really aren't ready for space until you can actually do that sort of thing without a three week simulator run.

    This is EXACTLY why we need to keep going round and round in LEO until it's really, really boring and second nature*. If we plan on getting past the moon, we have to develop technologies and procedures that allow us to fix things promptly.

    * This is not to imply that the ONLY thing we should be doing is the ISS. We should be funding lots of other space related programs.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  13. Re:Unscheduled != Emergency by CohibaVancouver · · Score: 2

    "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress."

  14. Re:Unscheduled != Emergency by tibit · · Score: 2

    When you have an emergency of such magnitude on ISS, you don't get to wear the spacesuits, you haul your ass into the Soyuz and head back to Earth.

    To the braindead mods: The parent is not a troll, just uninformed about ISS procedures. That doesn't make him a troll.

    --
    A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
  15. Re:Linux caused it by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 3, Informative

    He's joking or trolling, but he is correct about ISS dropping XP on their laptops...

    http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/155392-international-space-station-switches-from-windows-to-linux-for-improved-reliability

  16. Re:Unscheduled != Emergency by Erbo · · Score: 2

    You have a point in that the word "emergency" carries a connotation of a lot more imminent danger than the situation actually seems to have. A better term for this spacewalk might be "contingency spacewalk," which was a term NASA used for similar EVAs that might have to be performed on the Shuttle to save the Orbiter and/or its crew. Or, in Star Trek terms, it's a Yellow Alert, not a Red Alert.

    --
    Be who you are...and be it in style!
  17. Re:Gee by X0563511 · · Score: 2

    Make the mechanic (and all his coworkers) lives depend upon fixing your A/C and see what happens :D

    --
    For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  18. Re:Why wait till tomorrow by the_other_chewey · · Score: 3, Informative

    Because the spacesuits use pure O2 at very low pressure to remain flexible.

    Inflating a spacesuit with "normal" air at normal pressure would make it very
    stiff and require big forces to bend, making for very expensive balloon animals
    and not much work done by the astronaut contained within.

    The "pre-breathing" is required to adapt the human physiology to such an atmosphere.
    Just using normal air at very low pressure isn't an option, because the partial pressure
    of Oxygen would be too low to breathe (same as very-high-altitude air on Earth).

    Making a useable spacesuit is suprisingly hard. One of the challenges for example
    is that the suits internal volume should always stay the same, even when bent.
    Otherwise the pressure would change (and by quite a bit too) every time it is deformed,
    annoying the hell out of or even injuring the astronaut.