LONDON: Spacewalking astronauts encountered leaking problems while trying to service the cooling system of the International Space Station (ISS) . The out-of-this-world plumbing job that lasted for more than seven hours was done by American astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren.
Kelly and Lindgren spent exactly seven hours and 48 minutes working outside the ISS to repair its cooling system. During Friday’s work, they encountered an ammonia leak and a minor glove damage while trying to locate the cooling problem.
Their main focus was to undo repairs made on the ISS’s ammonia leak three years ago. Since the leak was fixed by replacing the defective pump, they were tasked to bring the radiator system back to its original setup.
Two hours into their work, Lindgren reported noticing small flakes of escaping toxic ammonia when he was isolating the primary cooling system from the backup one. They assured Mission Control that it appeared to be just a small leak and they were unharmed.
Ammonia can be very toxic to humans and any residue on the astronauts’ space suits must be dissolved before going back inside the ISS. The compound would usually be removed in an ammonia reservoir, which vents out excess ammonia. This will reduce the risk of bringing the toxic substance inside the station. Kelly and Lindgren were outside long enough that the ammonia was no longer a threat.
