spacetoday.net: ISS returns to normal operations after coolant loop repairs

Posted: Fri, Dec 27, 2013, 11:01 AM ET (1601 GMT)
ISS during STS-135 mission (NASA)

NASA officials said Thursday that operations on the International Space Station have returned to normal after the completion of two spacewalks to replace a faulty pump in one of the station's coolant systems. Heat exchangers that link internal water coolant systems with the exterior ammonia coolant systems were running again Thursday, allowing normal operations to resume in most ISS modules. NASA took those heat exchangers offline after a pump malfunctioned in one of two coolant loops earlier this month, leading to spacewalks on December 21 and 24 to remove the pump unit and replace it with a spare. The ISS crew is now shifting gears to a spacewalk from the Russian segment of the station on Friday.