Critical Leak: How a Spacesuit Malfunction Compromised Spacewalk 90

U.S. Spacewalk 90 at the International Space Station was canceled due to a spacesuit water leak, halting planned maintenance and scientific tasks.

U.S. Spacewalk 90 was canceled Monday at the International Space Station (ISS) due to a water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit on NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson’s spacesuit. Dyson and Mike Barratt set their suits to battery power at 8:46 a.m. EDT and opened the hatch to the space station’s Quest airlock before reporting the water issue. The crew is working with ground controllers to repressurize the crew lock section of the airlock before returning inside the station’s equipment lock.

The spacewalkers’ primary mission involved removing a malfunctioning electronics box, known as a radio frequency group, from a communications antenna on the starboard truss. Additionally, the astronauts planned to collect samples to study the survival and reproduction capabilities of microorganisms on the exterior of the orbiting lab.

Dyson, designated as spacewalk crew member 1, was distinguished by a suit with red stripes, while Barratt, spacewalk crew member 2, wore an unmarked suit. This spacewalk would have marked the fourth for Dyson and the third for Barratt. It was to be the 271st spacewalk conducted in support of assembly, maintenance, and upgrades for the space station.

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