http://www.wbir.com/story/tech/2015/01/14/space-station-leak-prompts-evacuation/21740031/
CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA is investigating what caused an alarm to sound on the International Space Station early Wednesday, forcing the six astronauts on board to seal themselves in a segment of the orbiting outpost - twice. During a briefing from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, administration officials confirmed that teams are investigating whether ammonia leaked into the American segment of the station. Officials also said that while they do not believe ammonia leaked into the cabin, the failure of a "computer card" may have caused suspicious readings. At about 4 a.m. ET, systems indicated that measurements in the cabin appeared to be off-scale, according to Michael Suffredini, manager of the International Space Station Program. [http://imgur.com/QjV9rH6.png] All six Expedition 42 members quickly donned masks and sealed themselves inside the Russian segment. Once it was confirmed to be clear of ammonia, they were permitted to remove their masks. After reviewing data in Houston, teams told the astronauts to return to the American segment, but an increase in pressure - possibly from ammonia entering the cabin - forced the crew to once again don masks and seal themselves in the Russian segment. "We also saw an increase in pressure in the cabin," Suffredini said. "If you're leaking ammonia into the water loop and it finds its way into the cabin, you'd expect its pressure to go up." Again, the #ISS crew is safe inside the Russian segment after an alarm indicated a coolant pressure spike. No ammonia leak confirmed. - NASA (@NASA) January 14, 2015 Hey everybody, thanks for your concern. We're all safe & doing well in the Russian segment. Follow @Nasa for updates on @Space_Station today - Sam Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) January 14, 2015 The International Space Station's cooling system features ammonia in its loops on its exterior that transfer heat from the inside. Because ammonia is toxic, water is used inside to transfer the heat to the ammonia loops on the outside. "You could leak ammonia from the outside into the water loop," Suffredini said. "And then there's a path that it could find its way into the cabin." When the crew has to evacuate or follow emergency procedures, a series of systems on the ISS are powered down. While some of the ISS' systems have been powered back up, the astronauts will remain in the Russian segment for at least several more hours. NASA hopes to have the crew back in the American module later Wednesday night. The space outpost is manned by NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts, Russians Elena Serova, Alexander Samoukutyaev and Anton Shkaplerov and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. As teams continue to review data, the crew is conducting any work they can in the Russian segment. Although they are limited in what they can accomplish, the temporary home does have enough provisions to sustain all six of them for nearly a week. "It's inconvenient to be in the Russian segment, but not unhealthy," Suffredini said. Some experiments slated for Wednesday will be rescheduled, but no research was lost during the shutdown. Freezers that house the experiments were powered down, but are designed to go without power for up to eight hours.
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