spacetoday.net: ISS suffers coolant leak

Posted: Fri, May 10, 2013, 8:10 AM ET (1210 GMT)
ISS illustration (NASA)

Astronauts on the International Space Station spotted a leak of ammonia from the station's cooling system on Thursday, a problem that may ultimately require astronauts to perform a spacewalk to repair it. The crew first saw the leak, in the vicinity of the P6 truss section, around 11:30 am (1530 GMT) Thursday. The leak is int he same area as another leak that astronauts attempted to fix last November. The rate of the leak raised concerns that the coolant loop in this truss segment would have to be shut down within 48 hours. the leak does not put the crew in danger, and station operations are otherwise normal, NASA said. A spacewalk may be needed to repair the leak, although no decision on whether to perform such and EVA, and when, has been announced by NASA.