00:00This is not training. That's the message you don't really want to hear.
00:03When you're on a six-month mission, I'll always remember that.
00:06For some unknown reason, the engineers are spinning uncontrollably.
00:12Station Houston, set to 2.702.
00:15This is not training.
00:17At the time of this announcement, astronaut Thomas Pasquette was on board with his six colleagues.
00:23If the space station spins too fast, it could cause serious problems.
00:28We have solar panels that are 35 meters on each side, 70 meters long, and they are very, very fragile.
00:33In fact, the acceleration of spinning them will generate a centrifugal force.
00:37And unfortunately, that can tear everything apart.
00:39The space station is not designed to spin like this.
00:43At the slightest unexpected rotation, it could fall apart.
00:48So it's a metal mechanism, but it's very, very delicate.
00:51So if we start turning it in all directions, the risk is really tearing everything off.
00:54The control center absolutely has to find out why the ISS started to rotate.
00:59The engineers are going through the list of all the possible explanations until they identify a potential culprit.
01:06Due to a computer error, Nauka is behaving as if it wasn't docked to the ISS.
01:11And so it's going to try to establish its orientation in order to carry out its mission to move, to
01:15capture the sun, to recharge its solar panels.
01:17It's carrying out its mission all by itself.
01:18Except that the problem is that with its own engines, it's starting to take the entire station with it.
01:23The team then decides to cut the gyroscopes.
01:25The ISS is now adrift.
01:27But at the time, I don't know if we really realized the seriousness of the situation.
01:31We were monitoring the station's inclination and knew we only had a few minutes to instruct the crew on the
01:37various steps of the procedure to follow.
01:40Step number one was to close the windows, close the hatches that didn't need to be open, and secure everything
01:46outside the station that could move and rotate.
01:49The control center ignited the thrusters of Svesda and Progress 78, which absolutely had to win this orbital battle against
01:56Nauka.
01:57Ganest, this fierce duel continued for 45 minutes.
02:02It was like a rodeo where you have to hold on for a certain time, except that it was in
02:06orbit around Earth.
02:07Little by little, Svesda and Progress 78 gained the upper hand, until suddenly the...
02:15MLM thrusters stopped firing.
02:17We regained control of the orientation.
02:19Everything was stable.
02:22After having made one and a half rotations, a total of 540 degrees,
02:27the station finally responds to the commands of the control center, which puts it back in the correct orientation.
02:33The station now is a very good one.
02:34The station now is a very good one.
02:34The station now is a very good one.
02:34The station now is a very good one.
02:34The station now is a very good one.
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