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NASA is back in contact with the International Space Station after a communications outage of almost three hours Tuesday.

Communications were restored at 12:34 p.m. ET, NASA reported on Twitter.

NASA lost contact with the space station at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the software on the stations flight computers was being updated remotely from the ground by flight controllers in Houston, Texas, NASA reported in a release.

The outage is being blamed on a malfunction of the stations data relay systems, which caused the space stations main computer to bar communication with the satellites that allow it to communicate with NASA.

Communication was briefly restored around 11 a.m. ET as the space station flew over Russian ground stations. At that time, NASA told the space stations crew to connect a backup computer to restore communications.

The U.S. space agency said the stations current commander, Kevin Ford, reported that the station was fine and the six astronauts on board were doing well.

Canadian Chris Hadfield is currently among the crew of the space station. Earlier in the morning, Hadfield had sent out a tweet indicating that the space stations main computers were getting a software upgrade.

Nothing could possibly go wrong, he added at the time.

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Space station restores communication with Earth

Published: Feb. 19, 2013 at 4:07 PM

HOUSTON, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- NASA confirmed it lost direct contact with the International Space Station for about 3 hours Tuesday morning due to equipment failure.

Communication between the space agency and the ISS was lost at 9:45 a.m. EST as controllers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston were sending a software update to the space station, SPACE.com reported.

With the link to NASA's Mission Control center out, the orbiting laboratory's only communication channel to Earth was through Russian ground stations.

NASA said the software update was not a cause of the problem, rather a main data relay system on the ISS malfunctioned.

"Mission Control Houston was able to communicate with the crew as the space station flew over Russian ground stations before 11 a.m. EST and instructed the crew to connect a backup computer to begin the process of restoring communications," NASA officials explained.

However, despite switching to a backup the station was still unable to communicate with the satellite network that serves as the outpost's link to the control center in Houston.

Contact was finally re-established at 12:34 p.m. EST, NASA said.

During the outage Expedition 34 commander Kevin Ford, using the Russian ground stations, reported on the status of the station.

"Hey, just FYI, the station's still fine and straight, everybody is in good shape of course," Ford said in audio released by NASA. "And nothing unexpected other than lots of caution warning tones, and of course we have no system in sight. We'll get that back to you as soon as we can."

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NASA regains contact with space station

19 February 2013 Last updated at 15:36 ET

Nasa ground controllers have re-established contact with the International Space Station less than three hours after a computer failure briefly interrupted communication.

Flight controllers in Houston were updating software on the ISS when one of its data relay systems broke down.

The ISS had been able to make contact intermittently via Russian stations.

Nasa normally speaks and sends data to the station from Houston, via three communications satellites.

Interruptions in both communication and control have happened a few times in the past, the space agency said.

The primary computer that controls critical station functions defaulted to a backup computer, but it was not letting the station communicate with Nasa's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, the US space agency said.

The problem occurred at about 09:45 EST (14:45 GMT).

The ISS marked its 10th anniversary of continuous human occupation on 2 November 2010. Since Expedition 1 in 2000, the space station has been visited by 204 astronauts.

The current crew is made up six men: two Americans, three Russians and a Canadian.

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Contact regained with space station

Update: NASA has reestablished contact with the International Space Station. For the latest news, read:NASA Restores Contact with Space Station

NASA lost direct contact with the International Space Station today (Feb. 19) due to equipment failure, leaving the orbiting laboratory dependent on Russian ground stations for communications with Earth, space agency officials say.

The communications loss occurred at 9:45 a.m. EST (1445 GMT) as flight controllers at NASA's Mission Control atthe Johnson Space Center in Houston were sending a software update to the space station. All six space station astronauts are in good health, and NASA is attempting to reestablish a connection with the station, NASA officials said. The space station is currently home to three Russians, two Americans and a Canadian astronaut.

As far as NASA officials can tell, the space station's loss of communications was unrelated to the software update, Kelly Humphries, a public affairs specialist at NASA told SPACE.com. It was a coincidence that the space agency lost contact with the station as the computers were being updated.

A main data relay system malfunctioned, and the computer that controls the station's critical functions switched to a backup, NASA officials said in a statement. However, the station was still was unable to communicate with the Tracking and Data Relay satellite network that serves as the outpost's link to NASA's Mission Control center on the ground.

"Mission Control Houston was able to communicate with the crew as the space station flew over Russian ground stations before 11:00 a.m. EST and instructed the crew to connect a backup computer to begin the process of restoring communications," NASA officials explained.

When mission control made contact with the International Space Station via Russian ground stations earlier today, Expedition 34 commander Kevin Ford reported on the health and status of the space station and its residents.

"Hey, just FYI, the station's still fine and straight, everybody is in good shape of course," said Ford in audio released by NASA. "And nothing unexpected other than lots of caution warning tones, and of course we have no system in sight. We'll get that back to you as soon as we can."

This is not the first time mission control has lost direct communication with the orbiting science laboratory. In 2010,the space station briefly lost communication with the gound when a primary computer failed and the backup had to take over. Communications were out for about one hour before NASA restored the connection.

The International Space Station is a $100 billion laboratory in space that is about the size of a football field. It has the living space equivalent of a five-bedroom home and was built by five difference space agencies representing the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan.

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Space Station Loses Contact with NASA Mission Control

NASA lost direct contact with the International Space Station Tuesday due to equipment failure, leaving the orbiting laboratory dependent on Russian ground stations for communications with Earth, space agency officials say.

The communications loss occurred at 9:45 a.m. EST (1445 GMT) as flight controllers at NASA's Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston were sending a software update to the space station.

A main data relay system malfunctioned, and the computer that controls the station's critical functions switched to a backup, NASA officials said in a statement. However, the station was still unable to communicate with the Tracking and Data Relay satellite network that serves as the outpost's link to NASA's Mission Control center on the ground.

All six space station astronauts are in good health, and NASA has reestablished a connection with the station, NASA officials said. The space station is currently home to three Russians, two Americans and a Canadian astronaut.

"Mission Control Houston was able to communicate with the crew as the space station flew over Russian ground stations before 11:00 a.m. EST and instructed the crew to connect a backup computer to begin the process of restoring communications," NASA officials explained. "Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford reported that the stations status was fine and that the crew was doing well."

The International Space Station is a $100 billion laboratory in space that is about the size of a football field. It has the living space equivalent of a five-bedroom home and was built by five difference space agencies representing the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan.

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NASA briefly loses contact with international space station

Feb 19, 2013 12:31pm

Earth at night from International Space Station. Image: NASA

NASA reported this morning that it lost its main communications link with the International Space Station for two hours. It blamed the problem on a computer glitch. The six astronauts on the station, it said, were fine, and still able to talk, at least intermittently, with controllers through Russian ground stations before the problem was solved.

A statement posted this morning by NASA:

This morning, at approximately 9:45 a.m. EST, the International Space Station experienced a loss of communication with the ground. At that time, flight controllers in Houston were updating the software onboard the stations flight computers when one of the stations data relay systems malfunctioned. The primary computer that controls critical station functions defaulted to a backup computer, but was not allowing the station to communicate with NASAs Tracking and Data Relay Satellites.

Two hours later NASA put a quick update on Twitter: Communications have been restored with the space station effective 11:34AM Central.

There was a bit of commotion at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where public affairs people pointed out that during the outage, the astronauts are able to talk directly to ground stations as they passed overhead, much the way astronauts did in the early days of the space program. Since the 1980s, NASA has had a fleet of Tracking and Data Relay satellites TDRS for short in much higher orbit, which allow for communication with few interruptions.

The problem came up while new software was being sent to the stations main computer. The computer basically burped, for lack of a better word, said Josh Byerly of NASA. The astronauts were were able to reconfigure their computers and solve the problem, he said.

Related: Chasing the Russian Meteor

There are six crew members on board Americans Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn; Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitiskiy, Evgeny Tarelkin and Roman Romanenko; and Canadian Chris Hadfield.

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Space Station Loses Radio for 2 Hours

The International Space Station in 2010 (NASA)

NASA's Mission Control lost contact with the International Space Station on Tuesday, temporarily leaving the $100 billion orbiting laboratory and its six astronauts without a means to communicate with Earth.

At 9:45 a.m., flight controllers in Houston were updating the software onboard the stations flight computers when one of the stations data relay systems malfunctioned, NASA said in a statement.

"The primary computer that controls critical station functions defaulted to a backup computer, but was not allowing the station to communicate with NASAs Tracking and Data Relay Satellites," NASA explained.

An hour later, NASA was able to communicate with the crew as the space station flew over Russian ground stations. Commander Kevin Ford reported that the stations status was fine and that the crew was doing well.

"The station is still flying straight, and everybody is in good shape," Ford said.

According to NASA's Johnson Space Center, communications were restored at 12:34 p.m. ET.

The International Space Stationbuilt in 1998 by space agencies representing the U.S., Russia, Europe, Canada and Japanis about the size of a football field and has the living space equivalent of a five-bedroom home.

It's been a rough go in the galaxy of late. Last week, a 150-foot asteroid buzzed by Earth, coming within 17,150 miles in the closest known flyby of a rock of its size, the Associated Press said.

The 17,400-mph brushback pitch came just hours after a meteor exploded above Russia, injuring more than 1,000 people, blowing out windows and shaking eyewitnesses with a blast equivalent of a 300-kiloton explosion.

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Space Station astronauts temporarily lose all contact with NASA

WASHINGTON (AP) The International Space Station regained contact with NASA controllers in Houston after nearly three hours of accidental quiet, the space agency says.

Officials say the six crew members and station are fine and had no problem during the brief outage.

NASA spokesman Josh Byerly said something went wrong around 9:45 a.m. EST Tuesday during a computer software update on the station. The outpost abruptly lost all communication, voice and command from Houston.

Communication was restored less than three hours later, Byerly said

"We've got our command and control back," he said.

Station commander Kevin Ford was able to briefly radio Moscow while the station was flying over Russia.

Normally, NASA communicates with and sends commands to the station from Houston, via three communications satellites that transmit voice, video and data. Such interruptions have happened a few times in the past, the space agency said.

If there is no crisis going on, losing communication with the ground "is not a terrible thing," said former astronaut Jerry Linenger, who was on the Russian space station Mir during a dangerous fire in 1997. "You feel pretty confident up there that you can handle it. You're flying the spacecraft."

Not only should this boost the confidence of the station crew, it's good training for any eventual mission to Mars because there will be times when communications is down or difficult during the much farther voyage, Linenger said.

In the past few weeks the space station had been purposely simulating communications delays and downtimes to see how activity could work for a future Mars mission, Byerly said. This was not part of those tests, but may prove useful, he said.

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NASA regains space station contact after outage

As Mission Control Houston upgraded software on the International Space Station's main computers, primary communications were lost for about 3 hours.

The International Space Station (ISS) lost ground communications capabilities for around three hours this morning during a software upgrade, according to NASA.

As flight controllers on the ground in Houston were updating flight computers, the data relay systems malfunctioned, cutting off all communications with the ground. The Communication and Tracking System provides communications between the crew and Mission Control via Ku-band, S-band, and UHF frequencies.

During the upgrade, an anomaly resulted in the primary computer that controls critical station functions defaulting to a backup computer, but the system was not allowing the station to communicate with NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites.

As the space station flew over Russian ground stations around 8 a.m. PT, Mission Control Houston was able to make contact and instructed the crew to connect to a backup computer to begin the process of restoring the main communications.

Though communication is at the core of safe, reliable International Space Station operations, there doesn't appear to be any additional threat to the ISS as a result of the computer glitch. Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford reported that the station's status was fine and that the crew was doing well.

Mission Control Center, Houston, communicates with the ISS via 60-foot diameter, high-gain microwave ground terminals at NASA's White Sands Test Facility near Las Cruces, N.M. These terminals then relay signals to and from a pair of Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System satellites orbiting at an altitude of 22,300 miles. When everything is working smoothly, the satellites pass these signals directly to and from the ISS.

In 2010 the space station lost communications for about an hour when a computer crashed. See an interactive demonstration that further explains the process of space communications here.

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Space station loses touch with Earth after glitch

NASA has reestablished contact with the International Space Station Tuesday (Feb. 19) nearly three hours after an equipment failure left the orbiting laboratory dependent without a direct link to its Mission Control center, space agency officials said.

Space station flight controllers at NASA's Mission Control center in Houston restored contact with the space station at 12:34 p.m. ET (17:34 GMT), according to an update. The space agency lost communication with the International Space Station at 9:45 a.m. ET (1445 GMT).

"Flight controllers were in the process of updating the stations command and control software and were transitioning from the primary computer to the backup computer to complete the software load when the loss of communication occurred," NASA officials said in a statement.

A main data relay system malfunctioned, and the computer that controls the station's critical functions switched to a backup, NASA officials said in a statement. However, the station was still was unable to communicate with the Tracking and Data Relay satellite network that serves as the outpost's link to NASA's Mission Control center on the ground. [How NASA's Satellite Communications Network Works (Infographic)]

The communications loss occurred as flight controllers at NASA's Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston were sending a software update to the space station. The space station is currently home to three Russians, two Americans and a Canadian astronaut.

NASA flight controllers were able to communicate with the spaceflyers aboard the space station before lines of communication were reestablished.

"Mission Control Houston was able to communicate with the crew as the space station flew over Russian ground stations before 11:00 a.m. EST and instructed the crew to connect a backup computer to begin the process of restoring communications," NASA officials explained.

When Mission Control made contact with the International Space Station via Russian ground stations earlier today, Expedition 34 commander Kevin Ford reported on the health and status of the space station and its residents.

"Hey, just FYI, the station's still fine and straight, everybody is in good shape of course," said Ford in audio released by NASA. "And nothing unexpected other than lots of caution warning tones, and of course we have no system in sight. We'll get that back to you as soon as we can."

This is not the first time Mission Control has lost direct communication with the orbiting science laboratory. In 2010, the space station briefly lost communication with the ground when a primary computer failed and the backup had to take over. Communications were out for about one hour before NASA restored the connection.

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NASA Restores Contact with Space Station