ISS Has Another Coolant Problem Says NASA

The ISS is having another cooling issue according to NASA. The coolant system aboard the orbiting space station is giving NASA fits. Last year NASA authorized a spacewalk to fix the coolant system in late December. The new leak is in one of the large coolant loops.

The cooling loop that shut down is the one that electrical systems on the ISS reside. NASA says that at no time has the crew aboard the station been in danger. Right now NASA believes that the issue is likely a valve problem.

Since the coolant loop shut down, a lot of the systems on the European and Japanese laboratories on the station have been switched to the other coolant loop or shutdown. NASA also noted that some non-critical systems on the ISS have been shutdown.

Crewmembers on the station are currently working on determining how to repair the issue. There is no word on when repairs on the coolant system will begin. Presumably, a spacewalk will be needed to make the repairs.

SOURCE: NST