A Dutch astronaut who was stationed aboard the International Space Station admitted to accidentally calling America's emergency services number (9-1-1) from orbit during one of his missions.
Astronaut André Kuipers described the accidental misdial while appearing on a radio program broadcast by NOS, the country's public broadcaster, ahead of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.
Kuipers explained that astronauts who want to contact NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston have to dial 9 to get an outside line, followed by 011 for an international line. Unfortunately for the astronaut, his fingers didn't dial the number correctly and he ended up trying to call the U.S. emergency services number.
"If you’re in space, it’s like you’re making a call via Houston, first you dial the 9 for an outside line and then 011 for an international line," Kuipers told the hosts of 'With The Eye on Tomorrow'. "I made a mistake, and the next day I received an email message: did you call 911?"
The slip-up set off a security alert at the Houston center which prompted emergency staff to check the room where the space station's line is found.
"I was a little disappointed that they had not come up," Kuipers joked.
The 60-year-old spent more than 200 days over two different missions in 2004 and 2011.
While there are a variety of obvious technical limitations for emergency services to respond to a call more than 200 miles above earth, it's still nice to know that even in space, 911 is there to help.
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