Spacewalking astronaut safe after water leaks into helmet

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A spacewalking astronaut ended up with water in his helmet at the end of his excursion today, scarily reminiscent of a near-drowning outside the International Space Station nearly two years ago.

This time, the amount of water was relatively small — essentially a big watery bubble floating inside Terry Virts' helmet, near his left eye. In summer 2013, another spacewalking astronaut's helmet flooded as he struggled to make his way back into the safety of the orbiting lab. He barely made it back in time.

Virts was never in any danger, Mission Control stressed, and he never reported any water during his 6 1/2 hours outside.

This was the second spacewalk in five days for Virts and Butch Wilmore, who encountered no trouble while routing cables in advance of future American crew capsules, due to arrive in a couple years.

Three spacewalks had been planned, with the next one Sunday, but its status was uncertain given today's mishap. Managers will meet Friday, as planned, to discuss it.