Due to a broken cooling system at the International Space Station, astronaut Rick Mastracchio might get his Christmas wish to go on a spacewalk or two.
Mastracchio, one of two NASA astronauts serving on the orbiter, recently said to the Associated Press that he is ready to venture outside the ISS and make repairs if Mission Control feels it is necessary.
"Any time you have something like this, it's good news, bad news," Mastracchio said to AP this week.
One of two cooling loops on the ISS unexpectedly shut down on Dec. 11 after it supposedly got "too cold." The current assumption is that there might be a bad valve inside an external pump.
The issue is considered significant, and needs to be repaired quickly to prevent "additional failures" according to AP.
"Of course, the bad news is the station's having problems and we have to go out and do a repair," said Mastracchio. "The good news is we have the spare parts. We have the training. We have the skills and, of course, going out and doing a spacewalk is always very exciting, yet very challenging."
Engineers in Houston were trying to see if the problem could be fixed remotely at press time to see if the issue could be solved without ordering at least two or three spacewalks to replace the pump.
Three spacewalks were needed to install the current pump back in 2010.
The ISS's cooling system uses ammonia to disperse heat, which is produced by on-board equipment, according to AP.
A scheduled delivery mission could be delayed because of the cooling system problem as well. A commercial Cygnus capsule, scheduled for a Wednesday launch from Wallops Island, Va., likely holds holiday goodies for the Mastracchio and five other astronauts, along with the essential supplies needed during their time away from Earth.
Mastracchio said being away from his family is tough, especially during the holidays, but he completed all of his holiday shopping before he left for a six-month mission in November.
"Being away from your friends and family during the holidays is not optimal," Mastracchio said to AP. "But if you have to be away from your family on Christmas, then this is sure not a bad place to be. "We're always on the lookout for Santa up here."
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