spacetoday.net: Suit problem cuts short ISS EVA

Posted: Fri, Feb 27, 2004, 10:55 AM ET (1555 GMT)
ISS Expedition 8 EVA (NASA)

A problem with the cooling system in one spacesuit forced an early end to a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Thursday. Michael Foale and Alexander Kaleri had planned to spend five and a half hours outside the station but ended after just under four hours. Kaleri reported a little less than three hours into the EVA that he had water inside his suit’s helmet, enough of it to make it feel like rain to him. The temperature of his suit began to rise, indicating a problem with the suit's cooling system. Flight controllers then sent the two back inside the station, where they found a kink in a water hose that is part of the suit's cooling system. The two were able to complete about 60 percent of the planned tasks for the EVA, including servicing and installing experiments on the exterior of the station's Zvezda module. They did not have time, though, to perform an inspection of the module nor reposition reflectors that will be used to aid the docking system for European ATV cargo spacecraft, scheduled to perform its maiden mission to the station early next year.