NASA shock broadcast causes panic on ISS as doctor is heard explaining how to treat astronaut for deadly disease

A SHOCKING NASA broadcast about an astronaut commander suffering from a deadly space-borne disease aboard the International Space Station (ISS) sparked panic last night.

The eight-minute broadcast, designed as a simulation, accidentally made its way onto the public airwaves, frightening those listening.

The audio clip, which we have cut for clarity, shows a flight surgeon responding to a medical emergency where an unnamed captain was suffering from decompression sickness.

Sounds like an emergency nightmare.

Especially when the anonymous flight surgeon on duty is stuck in traffic, an hour away from Mission Control, while there are no other flight surgeons available.

“I’m stuck in traffic, can I get in touch to see if there’s anyone who can get there before an hour,” the surgeon can be heard saying.

“That being said, there’s really nothing we can do in person that we can’t do over the phone right now.

“Unfortunately, the prognosis for commander is relatively… tenuous, I’ll say at this point, to keep it generic.”

NASA was forced to issue a statement after the broadcast aired.

“There is no emergency situation aboard the International Space Station,” NASA officials confirmed. in a statement about X (formerly Twitter).

“At approximately 5:28 p.m. CDT, audio was broadcast on NASA’s live feed from a ground simulation audio channel indicating that a crew member was experiencing effects related to decompression sickness (DCS).

“This audio was inadvertently diverted from an ongoing simulation where crew members and ground teams train for various scenarios in space and is not related to an actual emergency.”

The space agency was quick to add that the crew aboard the ISS were fast asleep while the broadcast was on air.

“Everyone remains healthy and safe, and tomorrow’s spacewalk will begin at 8 a.m. (Brasília time) as planned,” NASA wrote.

The broadcast came just hours after media outlets reported that a drug-resistant ‘superbug’ had appeared on the ISS, after mutating in orbit.

The recently discovered space strain has been named ‘ISS Enterobacter bugandenis’ as it is totally different from its terrestrial counterpart.

According to a study published in the scientific journal ‘Microbiome’, scientists believe that the strain evolved to become more potent in the closed environment of the ISS.

NASA’s race to replace the ISS

The ISS is aging.

And by the end of the decade, it will have to be removed from orbit to find its watery grave in the ocean.

Fortunately, NASA has been preparing for this for some time.

In December 2021, the US space agency announced that it was awarding a total of $415 million (£326 million) to three different companies – Blue Origin, Nanoracks (plus Voyager Space) and Northrop Grumman – to help consolidate their concepts. of commercial space station.

NASA also has a separate agreement with Texas-based Axiom Space, which is working on its own private outpost as well as a new series of spacesuits.

While Voyager has officially mapped out how it will launch Starlab into orbit – Blue Origin, in collaboration with Sierra Space, is in test mode for its own outpost.

In September, Blue Origin’s replacement ISS exploded in a fifth intentionally destructive test.

The test was designed to teach both companies how to build a space station that wouldn’t fatally explode in orbit.

Northtop Grumman initially had his own plans for a space station when NASA funded it.

However, the company abandoned the idea in October to help Voyager Space with Starlab.