International Space Station - Russian Spacesuit battery glitch
A Russian spacewalk outside the International Space Station ended hours earlier than planned on Wednesday after a cosmonaut discovered an electrical issue with his spacesuit, U.S. and Russian officials said
Oleg Artemyev was roughly two hours into a six-hour spacewalk when voltage levels in his spacesuit's battery began to unexpectedly drop
NASA officials said during a livestream that the cosmonaut, Oleg Artemyev, was never in any danger
Still, issues with the battery pack that powers his spacesuit were concerning enough for flight controllers to urgently order him to return to the space station and attach his suit to ISS power.
The battery issues were causing "voltage fluctuations" in Artemyev's spacesuit, according to commentary on the spacewalk livestream.
Officials on the ground gave Artemyev several warnings that he needed to return to the airlock.
Drop everything and start going back right away," was one of the last dispatches from the ground before Artemyev confirmed he was headed for the airlock.
A few minutes later, he was able to re-enter the space station and hook his suit up to its power.
A Russian translator said on the livestream that Artemyev jokingly told flight controllers that he felt "better than when he started the spacewalk" after returning to the ISS.