--- title: "An Astronaut Accidentally Dialed 911 in Space" description: "In a recent radio interview, Dutch astronaut André Kuipers recalls how he accidentally ended up calling American emergency services while on board the ISS." date: "2019-01-02" modified: "2019-01-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronaut-accidentally-dials-911-in-space-iss" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "astronaut" - "iss" - "space" - "the digest" --- # An Astronaut Accidentally Dialed 911 in Space ![In a recent radio interview, Dutch astronaut André Kuipers recalls how he accidentally ended up calling American emergency services while on board the ISS.]() *\Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins\* ## Space Butt-Dial We've all been butt-dialed. But have you ever considered what would happen if you punched in the wrong number while orbiting around Earth? Houston, we've got a problem. In a new [radio interview]() with Dutch public broadcaster *Nederlandse Omroep Stichting*, Netherlands astronaut André Kuipers recalled how he accidentally ended up calling American emergency services while on board the International Space Station (ISS). ## Intergalactic Operator Please Kuipers explained that phone calls from the ISS are routed through NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. "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 [tells]() *NOS,* according to Google Translate. "I made a mistake. The next day I received an email message: did you call 911?" ## Expect Delays While there's a longer-than-usual delay of data transfer from Earth to the ISS, long-distance phone calls are readily available to crew members, NASA Flight Director Holly Ridings [told]() *Space Answers* in a 2013 interview. Thanks to the immense distance the signal has to travel from Earth via a relay satellite and then to the ISS, there's a [bit of a delay]() — but usually still less than a second. But if there were a real emergency on the space station, the astronauts would have to deal with it themselves. Emergency services on Earth are way too far away. **READ MORE:** [Astronaut accidentally calls 911 from space]() \[Newsweek\] ***More on living on board the ISS: [A Day on — The ISS Edition]()*** ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()