Spacewalkers take extra safety precautions for toxic ammonia

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – Spacewalking astronauts are taking extra safety precautions after possibly getting toxic ammonia on their suits.

NASA’s Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins had no trouble Saturday venting a couple of ammonia coolant lines that are part of the International Space Station’s external cooling system.

But so much ammonia spewed out that Mission Control said it was going to be conservative and require extra inspections.

The astronauts’ first suit check found nothing amiss. The hose work should have been completed during a spacewalk a week ago.

But power upgrades took longer than expected. So NASA ordered up a bonus spacewalk.