Space-walking astronauts on March 13 had to take extra safety measures after they may have found toxic ammonia on the suit from a cooling system outside the International Space Station. According to AP, astronauts Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins had no problem removing and removing a pair of old jumper cables. However, an ammonia exploded out of the first hose that disturbed Mission Control some of the frozen white flags that might have been detected.
The flow of ammonia was diverted away from the astronauts and the space station, but Hopkins said some frozen crystals may have contacted his helmet. Following the clean-up of the outdoor cooling system, Mission Control said it was to be “conservative” and required inspections. The U.S. space agency NASA also did not want any ammonia to enter the ISS and pollute the cabinet atmosphere.
Cleaning process
According to reports, the astronauts had long used appliances to ventilate the pipes and stayed clear of the cigarettes in an effort to reduce the risk of ammonia binding. As soon as the pipes were emptied, the astronauts moved one of them to a more central location near the forest. Mission Control said the astronauts had spent enough time removing any ammonia residues from their suits. The raiders also said they could not smell ammonia once Glover and Hopkins were inside, but also said the two astronauts wore gloves while handling the switches. .
It is worth noting that ammonia jumper cables were added years ago after a cooling system leak. The hose work should have been completed at the spacewalk last week, but was canceled along with other works when a power upgrade took longer than expected. Later, other works on Saturday include refurbishing an antenna for helmet cameras, replacing ethernet cables, tightening connections on a European test platform and installing metal wire on the hatch thermal cover.