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NASA loses communication with International Space Station during software update (update: restored)

NASA loses communication with International Space Station during software update (update: restored)

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international space station
international space station

NASA says it lost communication with the International Space Station at 9:45AM ET this morning while flight controllers in Houston were working on updating the software for the station's flight computers. The space agency says that a data relay system malfunctioned during the update, and that the primary computer controlling "critical station functions" had to default to a backup computer, preventing the station from communicating with NASA satellites. NASA says the crew and station are in good condition, and Mission Control was able to communicate with the crew as the ISS passed over Russian ground stations. The crew is currently connecting a backup computer to help restore communications, which should be of great relief to astronaut Chris Hadfield, who has probably been holding back a really good tweet this whole time.

Update: NASA now reports that "Communications have been restored with the space station effective 11:34AM Central."