Apr 14
NASA Mulls Extra Spacewalk to Fix ISS Valve
Posted in: NASA, science, space, Space Tech, Today's Chili
NASA may extend space shuttle Discovery’s current mission by one extra day and one spacewalk, so that astronauts can work on a stuck valve that could impact half of the International Space Station’s on-board systems, Space.com reports.
The valve is one part of the ISS’s ammonia coolant tank; it regulates flow of coolant through half of the space station, the report said. It has been stuck since April 8th; so far, there have been no ill effects, but the ISS will soon need the extra coolant to combat heating from switching positions later this week.
Thankfully, the ISS has two full spare ammonia tanks on board, so if need be, the astronauts will swap the bad one out in case mission control can’t fix the problem remotely, the report said. (Image credit: NASA)
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