NASA: ammonia leaking from ISS outside cooling system

PanARMENIAN.Net - Crew members aboard the International Space Station are awaiting word on how to deal with leaking ammonia from an outside cooling system, NASA said in a news release.

The six-man crew is not in danger, NASA said, according to CNN.

The space station crew reported seeing small white flakes floating away from the station, the space agency said. So NASA helped locate the leak with external cameras while the crew used hand-held cameras pointed out windows.

The leak was in a cooling loop in a solar array that has leaked before. NASA said crew members tried to fix the leak in November. It is unclear whether this is the same leak or a new one.

The cooling system could shut down within 24 hours, NASA said. It is devising a plan to reroute other sources of power.

Three crew members -- commander Chris Hadfield of Canada, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko -- are scheduled to leave the station on Monday, May 13 at 7:08 pm ET.

Hadfield asked NASA if the leak will affect the undocking. Capsule Communicator Doug Wheelock said officials at the Mission Control Center in Houston don't see anything that they can't overcome technically, but they would have more information in the morning.