International Space Station Loses Contact with NASA

There were a few unsettling moments at NASA on Tuesday, as at about 9:45 a.m. EST, the International Space Station experienced a loss of communication with the ground.

At that time, flight controllers in Houston were updating the station’s on-board flight software when one of the station’s data relay systems malfunctioned.

The primary computer that handles critical station functions defaulted to a backup computer, but was not allowing the station to communicate with NASA.

Mission Control Houston was subsequently able to communicate with the ISS crew as the space station flew over Russian ground stations just before 11:00 a.m. EST. At the time, controller instructed the crew to connect a backup computer to initiate the process of restoring communications.

Advertisement

Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford reported that the station’s status was fine and that the crew was doing well.

UPDATE: As of 12:45 p.m. EST, contact has been restored.