Astronauts aboard the US section of the International Space Station received a terrifying wake-up call Wednesday morning when a coolant pressure alarm sounded — sparking fears of a toxic leak — which forced the crew to evacuate and take refuge with the Russians.
What was initially thought to be a mysterious ammonia discharge inside the Americans’ side of the ISS turned out to actually be a malfunction caused by a faulty sensor or computer relay, NASA officials reported.
“The Expedition 42 crew members are safe and in good shape inside the Russian segment of the International Space Station following an alarm in the U.S. segment at about 4 a.m. EST,” the US space agency said in a statement. “The crew received an update from spacecraft communicator James Kelly that it’s starting to look like a false indication.”
The US-run outpost is manned by NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts, Russians astronauts Elena Serova, Alexander Samoukutyaev and Anton Shkaplerov and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, according to the Associated Press.
Once they were isolated, the six-person crew received an “impromptu day off” and were told to sit tight as officials on the ground continue to isolate the situation.
“The crew’s safety was provided for thanks to the coordinated and quick actions of the cosmonauts and astronauts themselves, as well as operative control groups in Moscow and Houston,” the Russian space agency, Roscosmos said in a statement.
When the false alarm first went off, both American and Russian officials worked quickly and efficiently to execute their emergency plans — which included the powering down of all non-essential equipment aboard the US side of the station, according to NASA.
“Flight controllers in Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston saw an increase in pressure in the station’s water loop for thermal control system B,” the agency explained. “Then later saw a cabin pressure increase that could be indicative of an ammonia leak in the worst-case scenario.”
NASA admitted that they were preparing for disaster as they coordinated the astronauts’ recovery.
“Acting conservatively to protect for the worst-case scenario, the crew was directed to isolate themselves in the Russian segment while the teams are evaluating the situation,” the agency said.
Despite claims that the cosmic close-call was nothing but a dud, Russia’s Tass news agency reported that around one-third of the US segment’s ammonia was left in the module’s coolant system — and the rest had leaked out, according to the AP.
The Americans will shack up with the Russians on Wednesday night while officials on the ground continue to evaluate the situation, according to NASA.
There are currently no plans to evacuate the ISS and a spacewalk is now being considered to try to scope out the space station from outside. The incident comes as rumors continue to swirl that the Russians could abandon the ISS in 2020, the Moscow Times reports.
People believe Russia wants to construct a brand new space station that it would use as a gateway to the moon and possibly other planets.
