Update: NASA's Johnson Space Center confirmed on Twitter that the station restored communication at about 11:30 a.m.

Previous story: The International Space Station lost communication with Houston's Mission Control on the ground Tuesday morning, NASA officials said.

Houston flight controllers were updating software onboard the station's flight computers at 8:45 a.m. when one of the station's data relay systems malfunctioned, according to an alert from NASA. Although a backup computer took over critical station functions from the primary computer, the station was not able to communicate with NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites. According to a statement, Mission Control Houston was able to communicate with the crew as the space station flew over Russia ground stations before 10 a.m. The crew then connected to a backup computer and began restoring communications with Houston.

The Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford told controllers in Houston that the station was fine and the crew was doing well.

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NASA software update cuts communication to space station