Space station crew dons protective gear

[arcos]

on edit again:
Title has been changed and additional information included.

Space station crew dons protective gear

HOUSTON - International space station astronauts pulled an alarm and donned protective gear Monday after smelling a foul odor that turned out to be an unknown vapor,
NASA said.

"Things are calming down," NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said.

The three astronauts put on gloves and goggles after noticing "some kind of vapor, primarily a bad smell," Humphries said.

Initial reports said there was light smoke aboard the orbiting lab 220 miles above Earth, but Humphries later said there was never any smoke.

<snip>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060918/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle


Original story was:
Light smoke reported on space station

HOUSTON - Light smoke was reported aboard the international space station Monday and the three astronauts aboard were donning protective gear as a precaution,
NASA said.

"Things are calming down," NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060918/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle





More info from CNN:
"It is still too early to talk about a fire".

"Situation stable"... "it was not smoke, apparently it was some kind of vapor."

"Maybe some kind of liquid"

[RangerSmith]

1. crap... n/t

[THUNDER HANDS]

2. so that's where they sent Tommy Chong

I thought he was in prison.

[Up2Late]

10. No, Tommy Chong is out of prison now.

I heard an interview with him on NPR the other day.

[Botany]

3. NASA is going to keep sending people up in the shuttle until the next ....

.... deaths.

[greccogirl]

16. These floating "particles"

or whatever they are worry me. I'll be holding my breath on re-entry.

[bananas]

4. I thought it was talking about cigarettes

the way the headline was worded.

[bananas]

5. Somebody farted

from the yahoo link:

The three astronauts put on gloves and goggles after noticing "some kind of vapor, primarily a bad smell," Humphries said.

[donheld]

6. Let me guess

Plastic sheeting and duct tape :D

[LiberalEsto]

7. Another B*sh fart prank

undoubtedly

[maseman]

9. hehheh...heheh...pull my space finger

[Divernan]

8. Turned out to be "an unknown (!?!?!) vapor"

To say that a bad smell in the air is an unknown vapor is like saying a damp spot turned out to be a wet patch, in other words totally a non-answer. It's the kind of statement you'd expect from Bush at a press conference, but not from the scientific brains at NASA. They don't have the foggiest (fog, a known vapor) what it was. This is not particularly reassuring to the people on board.

[Up2Late]

11. Here's an update from the NY Times...

Astronauts Rush to Clean Up Chemical

By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Published: September 18, 2006

The three-man crew aboard the International Space Station scrambled this morning to deal with a chemical spill that caused NASA to briefly declare a station emergency.

The chemical, believed to be potassium hydroxide, leaked from an oxygen-generating device called an Elektron. Potassium hydroxide can irritate the skin or eyes, but it is not considered a serious threat to the health of the astronauts.

The first sign of the problem was a smoke alarm that went off as the station crew worked on an Elektron unit, Michael T. Suffredini, the head of the station program, said in a morning press conference. “Smoke in the cabin was what we thought we were dealing with originally,” he said.

The astronauts — Pavel V. Vinogradov of Russia, Col. Jeffrey N. Williams of the Army and Thomas Reiter of Germany — “did a great job” of reacting quickly to the problem, Mr. Suffredini said.

(more at link) <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/18/science/space/19spacecnd.html?ex=1316232000&en=6502a2b7ac7f7152&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>

[daleo]

12. Its a lye

"The chemical compound potassium hydroxide, (KOH) sometimes known as caustic potash, potassa, potash lye, and potassium hydrate, is a metallic base. It is very alkaline."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_hydroxide

[Massacure]

14. Not to be confused with lie, correct?

;)

[daleo]

15. They say there are lyes, damned lyes, and potassium hydroxide. n/t

[Odin2005]

13. The NASA bashers will be here in 5.. 4.. 3...