Space Station Spacewalk Ended Early for Malfunction

Outside the International Space Station, a spacewalk by Expedition 36 Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy of NASA and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency was cut short July 16 after Parmitano reported a buildup of water in the helmet of his U.S. spacesuit.

The spacewalk, which lasted only 1 hour and 32 minutes, was the second by the duo in as many weeks, designed to continue rigging cables for the future arrival of a Russian laboratory module and to conduct other maintenance work. The two spacewalkers completed only one task each before the excursion was ordered to end early. Parmitano was never in any danger and none of the tasks scheduled on the spacewalk were considered urgent or time-critical. It was the sixth spacewalk in Cassidy’s career and the second for Parmitano.