Spacewalk cut short by astronaut’s suit malfunction
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An astronaut had to rush back into the International Space Station on Tuesday after a mysterious water leak inside his helmet robbed him of the ability to speak or hear during a spacewalk.
Italian Luca Parmitano was reported to be fine after the episode. His spacewalking partner, American Christopher Cassidy, had to help him inside after NASA quickly aborted the spacewalk.
No one — neither the astronauts in orbit nor flight controllers in Houston — breathed easier until Parmitano was back inside and his helmet was yanked off.
“He looks miserable but OK,” Cassidy assured everyone.
It was the first time in years that a spacewalk came to such an abrupt halt and the first time since NASA’s Gemini program in the mid-1960s that a spacewalker became so incapacitated. Spacewalking always carries high risk; a puncture by a micrometeorite or sharp edge, if big enough, could result in instant death.
In a late-afternoon news conference, NASA acknowledged the perilous situation that Parmitano had found himself in, and space station operations manager Kenneth Todd promised to “turn over every rock” to make sure it never happens again.
Spacewalking is dangerous already, noted flight director David Korth. Then, on top of that, “go stick your head in a fishbowl and try to walk around. That’s not anything that you take lightly,” he said. “He did a great job of just keeping calm and cool” as the amount of water increased.
“Grace under pressure,” Korth said.
The two astronauts were outside barely an hour, performing routine cable work on their second spacewalk in eight days, when Parmitano reported the leak. It worsened as the minutes ticked by, drenching the back of his head, then his eyes, nose and, finally, mouth. He could have choked or drowned on the floating globs of water, NASA officials acknowledged. Between 1 and 1½ liters of water leaked into his helmet and suit, NASA estimated.
The source of the leak wasn’t immediately known, but the main culprit appeared to be water that is piped through the long underwear worn under a spacesuit, for cooling. The system holds nearly 4 liters, or 1 gallon.
Less likely was the 1-liter drink bag that astronauts sip from during lengthy spacewalks; Parmitano reported the leaking water tasted odd.
His last words before becoming mum were, “It’s a lot of water.”
At first, Parmitano, 36, a former test pilot and Italy’s first spacewalker, thought it was sweat accumulating on the back of his bald head. But he was repeatedly assured it was not sweat. He agreed. “How much can I sweat?” he wondered aloud. It was only his second spacewalk.
The water eventually got into Parmitano’s eyes. That’s when NASA ordered the two men back inside. Then the water drenched his nose and mouth, and he had trouble hearing on the radio lines.
Cassidy quickly cleaned up the work site once Parmitano was back in the air lock, then followed him in.
The three Russians and one American who anxiously monitored the drama from inside hustled to remove Parmitano’s helmet. They clustered around him, eight hands pulling off his helmet and using towels to mop his head. Balls of water floated away.
Parmitano blinked hard several times but otherwise looked fine as he gestured with his hands to show his crewmates where the water had crept around his head.
Cassidy told Mission Control, “To him, the water clearly did not taste like our normal drinking water.” A smiling Parmitano then chimed in, “Just so you know, I’m alive and I can answer those questions, too.”
He later tweeted, “Thanks for all the positive thoughts!”
Mission Control praised the crew for its fast effort, and engineers scrambled to determine the source of the leak.
Spare spacesuits and equipment are on board for future NASA spacewalks.
The four remaining spacewalks planned for this year involve Russian astronauts wearing Russian suits, which are different than the U.S. models. They’re preparing for the arrival later this year of a new Russian lab. The year’s previous four spacewalks were conducted with no major snags. This was the 171st spacewalk in the 15-year history of the orbiting outpost.
There was no immediate word on when Tuesday’s tasks might be attempted again. None of the chores was urgent, but were simply things that had piled up over the past couple of years, NASA said.
It was the fastest end to a spacewalk since 2004, when Russian and American spacewalkers were ordered back in by Mission Control outside Moscow because of spacesuit trouble. That spacewalk lasted 14 minutes. Tuesday’s spacewalk lasted 1 hour and 32 minutes.
Parmitano, a major with the Italian air force, became the first Italian to conduct a spacewalk July 9, six weeks after moving into the space station.
Cassidy, 43, a former Navy SEAL, is a six-time spacewalker. He’s midway through a halfyear station stint.