International Space Station suffers cooling system failure

London, Aug 2 (ANI): The International Space System's cooling system suddenly failed over the weekend, forcing its crew to reduce power.

One of the two loops reportedly suffered a shut down but NASA officials insist the three Americans and three Russians manning the station are safe.

Urgent spacewalk repairs are now under discussion.

Without thermal controls, temperatures on the ISS's Sun-facing side can soar to 121C (250F) and plunge to minus 157C (-250F) on the dark side, according to NASA.

"There might be a comfortable spot somewhere in the middle of the station, but searching for it wouldn't be much fun," The BBC quoted a statement on NASA's website, as saying.

The station is currently working on a single string and has no safeguard in case the cooling system fails again.

Speaking at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, NASA spokesman Rob Navias said: "It's pretty clear that we're going to want to have a course of action to take as quickly as possible.

"This is not something we want to linger over." (ANI)