Dec 12, 2013 10:14 AM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The International Space Station (ISS) experienced a malfunction in one of its cooling systems, but all astronauts on board are safe for the immediate future.

NASA told NBC News Wednesday the situation has caused an alteration in day-to-day tasks but has not has not posed a threat to anyone's safety. Still, the malfunction could require a repair spacewalk at some point.

"The crew was never in any danger," said NASA spokesman Josh Byerly said. "They're fine for the near future."

NBC's own James Oberg, a space analyst, said this type of malfunction is something the ISS crew prepares for. The cooling system is known as one of the "Big 14" maintenance issues that are expected to need repairs at some point.

The ISS has two external cooling loops, labeled A and B. Loop A shut down, causing the crew members to reroute coolant through loop A and forcing the six-person crew to prioritize various operations on board. Life support systems, electrical systems and science experiments were all affected, including the freezers that preserve scientific samples. Non-critical systems in Japan's Harmony node and Europe's Columbus lab were shut down.

Loop A failed when it the temperature reached a pre-set limit Wednesday, but engineers believe it was caused by a bad flow control valve for the station's ammonia coolant. If mission managers cannot fix the valve through a software repair, then a spacewalk will be required. The repair process is expected to last as short as a few days, but could also take more than a week.

ISS crew members have dealt with coolant issues several times in the past, even earlier this year and that fix was planned in two days. Typical Big 14 repairs take two weeks to plan, but it often depends on the resources available and the urgency of the problem.

See Now: Covert Team Inside Newsweek Revealed as Key Players in False Human Trafficking Lawsuit