Space station loses touch with Earth after glitch

(Credit: NASA)

The International Space Station (ISS) lost ground communications capabilities for around three hours this morning during a software upgrade, according to NASA.

As flight controllers on the ground in Houston were updating flight computers, the data relay systems malfunctioned, cutting off all communications with the ground. The Communication and Tracking System provides communications between the crew and Mission Control via Ku-band, S-band, and UHF frequencies. During the upgrade, an anomaly resulted in the primary computer that controls critical station functions defaulting to a backup computer, but the system was not allowing the station to communicate with NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites. As the space station flew over Russian ground stations around 8 a.m. PT, Mission Control Houston was able to make contact and instructed the crew to connect to a backup computer to begin the process of restoring the main communications. Listen to the audio as Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford talks with Mission Control Houston as station passes over Russian ground stations this morning: Though communication is at the core of safe, reliable International Sp... [Read more]