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                        Spacewalk to Repair Ammonia Leak

   Crew members on the International Space Station have begun a spacewalk
   to repair an ammonia leak in the orbiting laboratory`s power cooling
   system.
   American astronauts Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn ventured outside
   the space station Saturday to find the source of the leak and fix it.
   The space station`s Canadian commander, Chris Hadfield, described the
   leak Friday as a "serious situation," but one that has been stabilized
   by the six-member crew.
   The U.S. space agency NASA said the crew was not in danger and that the
   station otherwise continues to operate normally.
   Space station crew members reported the leak Thursday, with Hadfield
   describing the problem to the spaceship`s ground controllers at NASA`s
   command center in Houston, Texas.
   "Houston - Station. This is Chris. Space to Ground One.... I was back
   in the docking compartment looking. I was just talking with Tom and
   Chris who sounds like they can back up completely what they saw, a very
   steady stream of flakes or bits coming out of... then rotating towards
   the... as the truss is rotating, so... we`re just waiting to rotate now
   in order to get a decent view out of the gym.``
   NASA says the rate of ammonia escaping has increased since it was first
   reported, but adds that the station is functioning normally.
   Ammonia is used to cool the station`s power systems that provide
   electricity to the station. NASA says it is working to reroute other
   power to maintain full operation of solar arrays. NASA says the leaking
   array could be shut down.
   The station had a similar leak last year, but it is not clear whether
   this leak is from the same source.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/spacewalk-to-repair-ammonia-leak/1659118.html