[News] Cooling system problem on ISS

[nothke]

THE International Space Station has been forced to shut down many of its systems after a coolant leak.

NASA has confirmed the station is having problems with its coolant system due to a faulty valves. Early reports of the difficulties appeared in tweets from the station's crew and support staff.

http://mobile.news.com.au/technology/science/international-space-station-coolant-leak-causes-emergency-shut-down/story-fnjwlcze-1226781205918

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/international-space-station-suffers-emergency-2917539

http://rt.com/news/iss-coolant-problem-092/

(tnx to GeneCash) http://www.spaceflight101.com/space-station-encounters-thermal-control-system-failure.html

Live ISS telemetry (tnx to GeneCash):

http://spacestationlive.jsc.nasa.gov...nDisplay2.html

Edited December 13, 2013 by nothke

[Kryten]

There's no actual leak involved, it's a bit more complex. The coolant system regulates the temperature of the ammonia running through it by mixing 'cold' ammonia (from the radiators) with 'warm' ammonia from a second circuit that bypasses the radiator system. The valve that controls input of 'cold' ammonia is stuck open, and the whole system is now too cold for proper use.

There's a redundant backup coolant loop (loop , but it's starting to overheat due to the large loads being moved onto it, hence equipment shutdowns.

[KvickFlygarn87]

How will the astronauts get home?

[nothke]

There's also http://www.spaceflight101.com/space-station-encounters-thermal-control-system-failure.html

And you can see the current telemetry at http://spacestationlive.jsc.nasa.gov/displays/spartanDisplay2.html

Thanks! Added to OP. Also changed the label to Cooling system problem since some say it's a leak and some say it's not.

How will the astronauts get home?

Most probably, they won't since it's a smaller problem, if they don't manage to solve the problem trough software, they will have to do an emergency EVA in 24-48 hours. But if something goes dramatically wrong, there are 2 Soyuz-es on board that can first isolate crew and then return crew home.

Edited December 12, 2013 by nothke

[Kryten]

How will the astronauts get home?

This isn't a severe enough issue to warrant evacuation, situation is now considered 'stable'-however, it looks like this is going to be extremely hard to fix. The assembly with the issue is outside, and doesn't have the fixtures necessary to be serviced via robotic arm. The US spacesuits still aren't cleared to be used since the water leak incident a few months ago, and there's nobody trained both to work with US segment equipment and the Russian's spacesuits.

[Nibb31]

How will the astronauts get home?

Why would they need to?

In any case, there is always at least 2 Soyuz docked at the ISS to serve as lifeboats, which is why the ISS supports 6 crewmembers.

[nothke]

In any case, there is always at least 2 Soyuz docked at the ISS to serve as lifeboats, which is why the ISS supports 6 crewmembers.

Not always 2, depends on the crew size. They usually switch, having always 3 astronauts during missions, and 6 in a short period when both ascending and departing crews are on board. But they made 2 Soyuz launches one after another this autumn and there was 9 astronauts in early November. Currently there's 6 astronauts, I don't actually know if they are planning to always have 6 astronauts on board from now on.

Edited December 12, 2013 by nothke

[Suko]

This could be a major issue. This sort of Skylab-like stuff can become serious if they find thereselves unable to fix it.

Anyway, the ISS is a bit old, and this sort of problems shouldn't be surprising at this point, that's why it is needed to start a new one before the one we have now exceeds it's operational live.

[Nibb31]

Not always 2, depends on the crew size. They usually switch, having always 3 astronauts during missions, and 6 in a short period when both ascending and departing crews are on board. But they made 2 Soyuz launches one after another this autumn and there was 9 astronauts in early November. Currently there's 6 astronauts, I don't actually know if they are planning to always have 6 astronauts on board from now on.

Operational crew is 6, with 9 on-board during rotation periods.

The ISS can hardly operate with only 3 crew members, and they certainly couldn't do any science.

[Karriz]

Operational crew is 6, with 9 on-board during rotation periods.

The ISS can hardly operate with only 3 crew members, and they certainly couldn't do any science.

Isn't it usually 3 when they're waiting for the new crew? Usually they bring the old crew home before sending the new one, although in November they did it the other way around, which I thought was an exception. Either way, it's usually just a few days with a 3 crew members.

[bombo1]

What about the dream chaser?

[jebisanaggie]

Spaceflight article on the situation:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/12/iss-suffers-coolant-loop-issue-spacewalks-possible/

Current ammonia temps and flow rates:

http://spacestationlive.jsc.nasa.gov/displays/spartanDisplay2.html

[Kilmeister]

What about the dream chaser?

It's still a concept that's years from being ready. And as others have said, it's not at all life threatening at the moment. Just non-critical systems will be down for possibly a few weeks while they figure it out.

[Tiberion]

The US spacesuits still aren't cleared to be used since the water leak incident a few months ago, and there's nobody trained both to work with US segment equipment and the Russian's spacesuits.

No, they're cleared for a contingency spacewalk when/if they need one. There is one specific suit they want to swap out using a Dragon.

[Motokid600]

How old are some of these systems on the ISS? Is this the start of a trend of failing hardware due to age?

[nothke]

News: the pump is not that a big problem actually:

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/53815506/#53815506

[Kilmeister]

Looks like the repairs are going to be done this weekend.