NASA International Space Station experiences short circuit, power system affected
A resupply mission and spacewalk may need to be done because of a short circuit at the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, Nov. 13. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) assured people that the ISS crew is fine and in no danger.
NASA posted about the ISS short circuit in its official blog.
“There were no impacts to crew activities, the station maintained orbital control and communications remained in good condition,” read the statement of NASA ’s blog.
A photo of the current ISS Expedition 45 crew members was also posted on the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) website. It includes astronauts Scott Kelly, Mikhail Kornienko, Kjell Lindgren, Sergey Volkov, Kimiya Yui and Oleg Kononenko.
NASA assured that its engineers are continuing to fix the station systems after the failure of one of its eight power channels on Friday.
“Ground teams are discussing future repair plans and are currently able to manage the power balance for the foreseeable future.”
Dan Huot, the spokesperson for NASA, informed NBC News via email that the short circuit won’t affect the operations of the station. These types of short circuits have happened in the past and have been repaired. However, the space crew may need some parts that have to be delivered on the next resupply mission.
"The earliest a spare would be manifested would be on SpaceX-8 sometime in early 2016," Huot's email to NBC News stated.
Huot added that there might be delays but there is nothing to worry about as the power system is still functional. Despite the minor short circuit experienced by the ISS, it still paid tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks.
“#MomentOfSilence on @Space_Station for victims of #ParisAttacks as @ISS_Research goes on... http:// blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/? p=1989 …” read the ISS tweet.
ISS Commander Scott Kelly also posted about the attacks in France last Friday in his official Twitter account.
“Shocked & saddened by terrorist attacks on #Paris Standing with #France from @space_station. Our thoughts are w you,” tweeted Kelly, along with a photo of his view from the ISS.
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