NASA claimed there was “no emergency” aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after accidentally broadcasting an audio recording of a training simulation, according to The National.
The space company denied that there was an emergency aboard the International Space Station after a six-minute audio recording aired live Thursday on the agency’s YouTube channel, which has more than 12 million subscribers. Two hours after the audio leaked, NASA released a statement saying there was “no emergency” and that the clip was released accidentally. The American space agency said:
“There is no emergency situation going on aboard the International Space Station. At approximately 5.28pm CDT, audio was aired on the Nasa livestream from a simulation audio channel on the ground indicating a crew member was experiencing effects related to decompression sickness.”
NASA broadcast live around the clock, showing mostly footage of the orbiting lab and the astronauts’ activities. Viewers could hear a flight surgeon ask a crew member “how much oxygen is left?” and say the commander has to put on a spacesuit. The live feed from NASA’s space station broke on Wednesday night due to a message saying the broadcast would resume as soon as communications are back up.
In addition, intelligence agencies with open sources said they had seen “initial reports of a possible serious medical incident” on the space research station, according to The Independent. Nevertheless, space scientists watching the live broadcast were quick to dispel such fears, saying it could be a drill. However, the incident caused panic among social media users, with many expressing concern.
The space agency said: “This audio was inadvertently misrouted from an ongoing simulation where crew members and ground teams train for various scenarios in space and is not related to a real emergency. The International Space Station crew members were in their sleeping period at the time. All remain healthy and safe, and tomorrow’s spacewalk will start at 8am EDT as planned.”
The space station has been occupied since 2000. It is a multi-billion dollar project of NASA, the European Space Agency, Russia, Japan and Canada. Emergencies are rare aboard the ISS as there are several protocols in place to protect the astronauts.
