NASA's ISS spacesuit nightmare builds up while Sunita Williams is still stuck in space

On June 24, NASA cancelled a spacewalk at the International Space Station (ISS) following a spacesuit malfunction. Astronauts Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mike Barratt were forced to cancel their plans to spacewalk outside the ISS. 

This spacewalk was cancelled on Monday after a water leak from a servicing and cooling umbilical (SCU) on Dyson's spacesuit, adding another red mark to the ongoing ISS spacesuit situation. The incident caught on the NASA live feed, saw Dyson reporting “literally water everywhere.”

“I could see the ice crystals were flowing out there, and then, just like a snow machine, there was ice forming at that port on the SCU,” Dyson told Mission Control. The astronauts were still in the hatch when the leak occurred, with the external door open. The spacewalk was ultimately terminated. This second attempt follows the June 13 planned decision for a spacewalk with a different group of astronauts - Matt Dominick and Tracy Dyson. 

The initial attempt was cancelled due to a “spacesuit discomfort” dilemma with Matt Dominick. 

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“The spacewalk for today has been cancelled due to a space suit cooling unit water loop leak that began right after the suits were put on internal battery power,” NASA announced after the June 24 attempt.  

Repeatedly postponed spacewalks and struck-off contracts

Fortunately, in each case the astronauts were safe. However, the continuing string of postponed spacewalks due to arising concerns with the spacesuit is only the beginning of NASA's problems. Another forthcoming spacewalk is scheduled for July 2. Only time will tell whether that will be successfully greenlit. Either way, the astronauts are in dire need of new suits, especially with the ones at their disposal based on a design that dates back more than 40 years, which is indisputably overdue for major upgrades.

Despite the growing demand for spacesuits onboard the ISS, NASA has faced another setback: The company enlisted to design the suits is pulling back its strings from the contract. 

In 2022, NASA picked Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace to build their spacesuits, with an estimated cumulative value of $3.5 billion. Although these suits were supposed to debut in 2025, a new troubling development in the arena suggested the RTX Corp. subsidiary company had agreed to “descope” its work on spacesuit development for the ISS despite the contract. A spokesperson for Collins Aerospace confirmed the news to SpaceNews on June 25. 

“After a thorough evaluation, Collins Aerospace and NASA mutually agreed to descope Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) task orders. Collins remains committed to supporting NASA and human spaceflight programs,” the company said. 

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Eventually, a day later, NASA also released a statement reiterating the case that Collins' “development timeline would not support the space station's schedule and NASA's mission objectives.”

This isn't the first time NASA has suspended spacewalks outside the ISS due to potentially alarming threats. Two years ago, cases of water leaking into astronauts' helmets during these walks were reported. Similarly, in 2013, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano became a victim of these water leaks inside his helmet. Though Parmitano returned to the ISS airlock, he dealt with a terrifying, life-threatening scare while having trouble breathing with 1.5 litres of water inside his helmet. 

More such cases followed, and NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel concluded in a January 2019 statement, “It is an undeniable fact that the 40-year-old EMUs used in ISS operations are reaching the end of their useful life.”

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Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore: Stuck in space

While astronauts face the issue of a limited inventory of Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) on the ISS, astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are still stuck in space for over two weeks. A new heart-rending report surrounding their case indicates that NASA and Boeing knew about a helium leak on the Starliner spacecraft before its June 5 launch. 

Their supposed negligence thought of the lake as nothing consequential enough to pose any safety issues. On the contrary, after its 25-hour journey in orbit, the Starliner developed four more leaks. This unprecedented turn of events rendered one of the thrusters unusable, leading to repeated delays in the astronaut duos' scheduled departure. They were initially scheduled to leave the ISS on June 13 and then June 26. Each time, their return was cancelled. 

These astronauts are not stranded in space; instead, they are fortunately buckled inside the ISS with five other astronauts on board. Their Starliner is reportedly docked at the ISS module Harmony

In the meantime, NASA maintains that Williams and Wilmore can undock and return home if needed. They have ample supplies onboard and a Boeing spokesperson also asserted the crew is “not pressed for time.” The Boeing official also told The Guardian that their return is expected to happen after the planned spacewalks scheduled for June 24 and July 2, the former of which was ultimately cancelled. 

With no definite date of return in sight, Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program said they're taking the time and following their standard mission management team process: “We are letting the data drive our decision-making relative to managing the small helium system leaks and thruster performance we observed during rendezvous and docking.”