UPDATED: ISS evacuated

Written By: Chuck Bednar
Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

UPDATE (1:58PM CST):

Per tweet from ISS:

Original story (9:30AM CST):

A coolant pressure alarm and concerns over a possible ammonia leak on the US arm of the International Space Station (ISS) forced crew members to be evacuated to the Russian segment of the facility, NASA officials reported Tuesday morning.

According to the US space agency, the alarm went off in the US segment at approximately 4am EST, at which time flight controllers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston saw an increase in pressure for the station’s water loop for thermal control system B.

They later observed a cabin pressure increase believed to be indicative of an ammonia leak, at which time the crew was instructed to isolate themselves in the Russian portion of the ISS while teams on the ground monitored and evaluated the situation. Non-essential equipment in the US segment were also powered down as a safety precaution during this process.

Despite earlier reports from the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) which indicated that there had been “harmful emissions” detected, The Verge said that NASA has clarified that there is “no hard data” to suggest that there was actually an ammonia leak. The issue, according to NASA officials, is most likely due to “a faulty sensor or computer relay.”

The agency has also reported that all crew members, including two Americans, one Italian and three Russsians, followed normal safety procedures and donned gas masks during the incident. They relocated to the Russsian half of the orbiting laboratory and sealed the US portion behind them. All six crew members are said to be in “excellent shape” at this time.

“Canadian astronaut and former ISS crew member Chris Hadfield tweeted that a leaking coolant system was one of the ‘big three’ emergencies that astronauts train for on the station,” The Verge added. He added that the others were fire and/or smoke, and atmospheric contamination.

The crew members are not expected to return to the US module today, according to Florida Today reports. Instead, it is likely that they will remain in the Russian segment throughout the night, where they have access to as much as a week’s worth of provisions.

“The Expedition 42 crew had been awake for about two hours before the alarm sounded, and were working on unloading the SpaceX Dragon cargo carrier which arrived days ago with more than 2.5 tons of supplies and science experiments,” said ABC News in Australia.

Earlier this week, the ISS crew received much-needed supplies thanks to the arrival of a SpaceX Dragon capsule. Over 5,000 pounds worth of tools, provisions and experiments were loaded onto the spaceship, which had departed from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Friday.

Upon the capsule’s arrival, Expedition 42 Commander and NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore used the space station’s robotic arm to capture the capsule and its more than 5,000 pounds of cargo. Supplies on the ISS were getting somewhat low, according to reports, because of the October launch-pad explosion of a supply ship.

The Dragon capsule was berthed to the space station’s Harmony module at 8:54 am EST, NASA reported on Monday. It is scheduled to remain attached to the ISS for four weeks. The hatch was expected to be opened by the end of the day on Tuesday.

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