International Space Station is fixed on Christmas night

Two astronauts are about to step out into space on Christmas Eve to repair the broken cooling system on the International Space Station (ISS).

>>>NASA emergency repair ISS

The walk to outer space is expected to start on 7h10 on the morning of December 24 in Washington time (19h10 in Hanoi time), AFP said. This is the second time that astronauts go out of ISS to replace the vanished ammonia pump on December 11.

According to the US Aeronautics Agency (NASA), two astronauts Rick Mastracchio, 53, and Mike Hopkins, 44, will take the external storage pump system and install it into the current void to restore Completely cooling system for ISS station. This is the second out of Hopkins career and 8th for Mastracchio.

Images of Hopkins and Mastracchio in outer space on December 21.(Photo: AFP / NASA)

Aviation engineer Koichi Wakata of Japan Space Exploration Agency will control a 15-meter-long robotic arm, move Hopkins and a new pump from storage to where it needs to be installed.

"After they completed 5 connections to the electrical system, 4 connected to the liquid system and activated the pump, the ISS cooling system operation will be fully restored , " NASA said. "If the job this time goes as expected, the pump replacement process will be completed in just two walks to space."

The first two astronauts went out on December 21 with the task of disconnecting and dismantling the broken pump. They completed the work of two days in just one out-and-a-half hour.

However, Mastracchio's space suit is malfunctioning, raising concerns about the safety of astronauts. ISS executives decided to use the reserve for this time and took an extra day to prepare. Therefore, the second time out of the space was delayed by one day compared to the plan.

The last time astronauts worked in space on Christmas Eve took place 14 years ago. Meanwhile, the space shuttle Discovery carried two astronauts Steve Smith and John Grunsfeld to the ISS station to upgrade and install a new insulation layer for the Hubble Space Telescope.