NASA has delayed its astronauts' spacewalks by a month after two failed attempts. The first took place on June 13, then the astronauts attempted to leave the ISS on June 24. After another failure, the event was planned for July 2, but already on June 28 it became known that it would take place only at the end of the month, and the exact date was still unknown. The reason for all the failures is related to the spacesuits. It looks like the space agency has a difficult situation with them. The suits are already so old that they can kill astronauts, but they are unlikely to have new ones in the near future.
After two unsuccessful attempts, NASA delayed astronauts' launch into space by a month. Photo source: dzen.ru
Contents
- 1 Why NASA is postponing spacewalks
- 2 Astronaut space suits — what they are
- 3 Why do EMU spacesuits fail
- 4 NASA astronauts will not be able to go into outer space?
Why is NASA postponing spacewalks into outer space
On June 13, the spacewalk of two astronauts Matt Dominick and Tracy Dyson lasted only 31 minutes instead of the planned six and a half hours. It had to be cut short early due to “discomfort” felt by Matt Dominick. NASA has not disclosed the nature of the “discomfort,” although the wording itself is rather strange, given that spacesuits cause astronauts serious discomfort even under ideal conditions.
During the second attempt, the spacewalk did not take place at all. This time, the cause was a leak in the service and cooling umbilical (SCU). According to astronaut Tracy Dyson, she saw ice crystals escaping from the umbilical like a snowstorm.
Astronauts Tracy Dyson and Michael Barratt. Photo source: enewsmd.online
When the astronauts discovered the leak, they were in the airlock with the outer door open, but immediately closed it after the exit was cancelled. If the incident had occurred in space, the astronaut's life would have been at risk.
It must be said that this is not the first time that astronauts have had a coolant leak. For example, in 2022, an astronaut suffered a water leak in his helmet. A similar situation happened in 2014 with Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano — About one and a half liters of water accumulated in his helmet, which interfered with his vision and breathing.
The faulty spacesuits were delivered to Earth, but NASA engineers have not yet been able to discover the cause of the water leak. Therefore, astronauts are prohibited from leaving the ISS for spacewalks. Currently, work to determine the cause of the incident continues. Therefore, according to Space, the spacewalk has been postponed until the end of July.
Elements that make up the Extravehicular Mobility Unit suit. Photo source: nasa.gov
Astronaut spacesuits — what are they
NASA has been using Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuits for a long time. They consist of two main elements — the external part, that is, the spacesuit itself, and the life support system. The outer sealed part provides pressure support under vacuum conditions. The life support system (a backpack worn by astronauts in outer space) provides the astronaut with oxygen, removes carbon dioxide, and also provides heat dissipation. For this purpose, the spacesuit has many tubes through which water circulates.
It would seem that there is no need for cooling at all, if it is already very cold in space. However, it should be borne in mind that the spacesuit is sealed, in addition, astronauts wear tight-fitting spandex clothing. Therefore, the cooling system is truly vital.
The cooling system is vital in the spacesuit. Photo source: aif.ru
Why EMU spacesuits fail
The main problem with NASA spacesuits is that they are very old. The development of EMU began back in 1974 during the space shuttle era. The first spacewalk in such a spacesuit took place in 1983. And in 1984, the first astronaut went into outer space without insurance. However, it soon became clear that the EMU did not meet all NASA requirements.
In 1990, work began on updating the spacesuits, and already in 1998, the updated EMU was used for spacewalks. Initially, these spacesuits were designed to be used for 15 years, but they are still in use today.
But this is not the only problem. NASA has very few EMU suits left. Initially, a total of 18 of them were made. There are currently 4 spacesuits on the ISS, and 7 more are being serviced on Earth. The rest completely failed or were lost as a result of unsuccessful missions.
NASA spacesuits were developed back in the days of the space shuttle. Photo source: ixbt.com
NASA astronauts will not be able to go into outer space?
Currently, the agency does not have enough spacesuits of small sizes. However, even those spacesuits that are available do not seem to be in the best condition either. They already served much longer than planned, in addition, they were not always serviced on time.
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Back in 2022, NASA signed a contract with Collins Aerospace to supply new spacesuits by January 2024. The contract amount was $97 million. However, it was eventually torn up by Collins Aerospace. This means that new spacesuits will not appear in the near future, so spacewalks may be in jeopardy.
Finally, we note that the failed spacesuits — This isn't the only major problem for NASA astronauts. As we previously reported, they cannot return to Earth. You can find out in detail about the reasons for this by following the link.