Spacesuit Malfunction Ends ISS Spacewalk Prematurely

Yesterday's spacewalk to repair a faulty Remote Power Controller Module (RPCM) on the International Space Station (ISS) was ended after only 14 minutes and 22 seconds when Russian ground controllers noticed the pressure dropping more rapidly than expected in Astronaut Mike Fincke’s space suit. Neither astronaut was in any immediate danger.

Four Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs), one of which receives power from the faulty RPCM, maintain the station's orientation in space. Although two CMGs are now offline, the remaining two gyroscopes can keep the ISS stable until repairs are complete. The spacewalk will be re-scheduled, but will not occur earlier than June 29.

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