Medical exercise audio mistakenly broadcast on NASA livestream channels has caused panic. The space company has just confirmed that there was no real emergency situation aboard the ISS.
There International Space Station (ISS) now welcomes the public. It received an all-civilian crew for the first time in January 2024. A few days ago, Boeing’s Starliner capsule also docked with the station. This mission marks a new stage in the era of space missions with the participation of private companies. In this context, the safety of people on board is more essential than ever. The teams on the ground and on board the ISS regularly train various emergency scenarios to be ready for any eventuality.
Yesterday, June 12, an audio coming from a medical emergency simulation exercise was accidentally broadcast on official NASA livestream channels. The exercise simulated an accident during which the captain suffered from decompression sickness. This registrationwhich lasted about eight minutes, quickly circulated and suggested a real crisis aboard the ISS.
No emergency aboard the ISS! NASA confirms this audio is from a medical exercise
In the simulation audio, a flight surgeon advised on the treatment of decompression sickness. He suggested putting the astronaut back in his suit and administering pure oxygen. The audio also mentioned a emergency evacuation to a hospital in Spain after a water landing. The words seemed so real that the first reactions on social networks were of great concern.
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NASA has quickly clarified the situation via a press release on no real emergency on board the ISS. They said the audio came from a simulation channel used for training ground and onboard teams. At no time was the current crew, consisting of six company astronauts and three Russian cosmonauts, involved in this exercise. At the time of the incident, they were all sleeping to prepare for a spacewalk planned for today.
There is no emergency situation going on aboard the International Space Station. At approximately 5:28 pm 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…
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) June 13, 2024