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NASA

An Astronaut Accidentally Called 911 From Space, Causing a Scare at NASA

By
Emily Price
Emily Price
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By
Emily Price
Emily Price
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January 3, 2019, 3:47 PM ET

NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston had a bit of a scare this week when an astronaut at the International Space Station accidentally called 911.

Dutch astronaut André Kuipers was making a call via Houston when he missed a number, causing him to accidentally dial 911 via the Houston space center’s switchboard. The move caused alarms to sound throughout the space center, and a security team to be dispatched to the room where the call had been patched through.

Kuipers later received an email from the center asking if he called 911, The Daily Mail reports.

Astronauts are able to place calls from the International Space Station, but in order to get an outside line, they must first dial 9. To get an international line, which Kuipers needed since he was placing a call through Houston, he needed to dial 011. Kuipers forgot the zero.

Despite a bit of excitement, nothing else came from the incident. When speaking with reporters, Kuipers said he felt a little let down that no one came to space.

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