Astronauts' spacewalk called off due to significant water leak from spacesuit

Astronauts Tracy Dyson and Mike Barratt faced a significant water leak from a spacesuit during a spacewalk in the International Space Station's Quest airlock module.

On Monday, astronauts Tracy Dyson and Mike Barratt were forced to cancel a spacewalk due to a significant water leak from Dyson's spacesuit. The incident occurred just after they switched their spacesuits to battery power to begin the spacewalk, leading to a rapid response from flight controllers to reconfigure the spacesuit umbilicals, ultimately stopping the leak.

Umbilical Leak and Repressurization

Tracy Dyson, wearing a spacesuit with red stripes, reported the leak, expressing shock at the water flow and the presence of ice on her helmet. The umbilicals were reconfigured, halting the leakage, and the airlock's outer hatch was closed for repressurization, allowing the spacewalkers to return to the station.

Previous Cancellations and Astronauts

This marked the second consecutive canceled spacewalk attempt, with the previous one on June 13 also being called off due to a suit discomfort issue reported by astronaut Matthew Dominick. Tracy Dyson and Mike Barratt, both veterans of five earlier spacewalks, were assisted by station astronauts Jeanette Epps and Matthew Dominick during the cancellation.

EVA Goals and Contingency Plans

The planned tasks for the spacewalk included retrieving a malfunctioning radio transmitter and antenna package, as well as collecting samples near the station's U.S. airlock to study potential micro-organisms surviving in space. The latter was aimed at aiding future missions to Mars by preventing bio-contamination.

Implications for Future Spacewalks

Due to the water leak issue, the impact on future spacewalk schedules remains uncertain, with a planned EVA on July 2 potentially affected. NASA will need to address the problem before proceeding with further spacewalks.

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