(CNN) – NASA is scrambling to deal with a rare emergency on board the International Space Station. Two spacewalks are scheduled to fix one of the station's two cooling systems that failed over the weekend. NASA officials say crew members are in no immediate danger, but the malfunction leaves the space station with just one critical cooling system in operation

Right now, a future space station crew here on Earth is training for worst-case scenarios when they're 220 miles up in space. One member of that crew is our very own astronaut Cady Coleman, who we've been following ahead of her mission to the International Space Station later this year. John Zarrella caught up with her to see that emergency training firsthand for our ongoing series, "Counting Down Cady." Watch

NASA: Spacewalks may be used to fix space station cooling problem

(CNN) – The all-veteran, six-astronaut crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis is slated to blast off today for a 12-day mission. NASA says the weather looks good for the 2:20 p.m. ET launch. There are three spacewalks planned during this trip to the International Space Station (ISS).

One person who will be watching as Atlantis takes off is our very own astronaut, Cady Coleman. We've been "counting down Cady" ahead of her mission to the ISS later this year. Cady was there, in-person, when the shuttle Discovery went up last month. Our John Zarrella followed her as she toured Kennedy Space Center (KSC) with two VIPs – her husband Josh and 9-year-old son Jamey.

Don't miss: Read Cady's blog about her trip to KSC

Editor's Note: Cady Coleman, Ph.D. is a NASA astronaut – a veteran of two space missions, who has logged over 500 hours in space. She is assigned to the Expedition 26 crew and is scheduled to fly to the International Space Station aboard the Russian Soyuz 25 in late 2010. Below is a blog written by Cady exclusively for CNN via NASA's Astronaut Office.

[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/05/14/cady.josh.jamey.ksc.34.cnn.art.jpg caption="Astronaut Cady Coleman poses with her husband Josh and son Jamey at Kennedy Space Center."]

By Cady Coleman, Special to CNN

How does the time go so fast? Just a few weeks ago, Jamey, Josh and I were watching the Space Shuttle Discovery blast off from the Kennedy Space Center for the STS-131 mission to the International Space Station. Now it is May, and the STS-132 crew is already poised for their trip to the station to deliver our newest Russian module.

I’ve worked many of the launches over the years, but I’ve never been able to see one with my family. Because we launch from there, many folks think that astronauts live at KSC, but most of us are based in Houston. That’s why it is a treat to visit the space center, especially at launch time.

In just two days, Josh, Jamey and I watched a space shuttle launch, cringed as an alligator snatched a muskrat, strapped ourselves into a shuttle launch simulation at the visitors’ center and checked out the KSC SWAT team. For a 9 year old, vacation doesn’t get any better than that, and his Mom and Dad were pretty thrilled as well.

I marvel every time I fly into KSC for training. The center covers something like 140,000 acres, many of which are part of a wildlife preserve. Alligators, wild boars, snakes and manatees are everywhere, right next to active launch pads and massive machines like the crawlers that carry the shuttle stack to the launch pad. I know that the KSC workers probably get used to seeing these things every day, but driving by the launch pads is a huge inspiration for me.

I always try to make time to visit the old launch pads from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs when I come to KSC, and I felt lucky to be able to show these special places to Jamey and Josh. Those early missions were built one upon the other, flown by real people with the same passion for exploration that surrounds me in the NASA family. Even though it makes me sad, I often visit Launch Complex 34, where we lost the crew of Apollo 1. It is important to me to respect the memory of the astronauts that paved the road that I now travel. I am humbled to think about the moments in history connected to these places that have made it possible for astronauts like me to think of six months on a space station as almost routine!

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Editor's Note: Cady Coleman, Ph.D. is a NASA astronaut – a veteran of two space missions, who has logged over 500 hours in space. She is assigned to the Expedition 26 crew and is scheduled to fly to the International Space Station aboard the Russian Soyuz 25 in late 2010. Below is a blog written by Cady exclusively for CNN via NASA's Astronaut Office.

[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/04/23/cady.airport.art.jpg caption="Astronaut Cady Coleman stranded at an empty airport terminal in Frankfurt, Germany."]

By Cady Coleman, Special to CNN

Planes, Trains and Automobiles vs. The Space Shuttle

It turned out to be easier for the crew of Discovery to undock from the International Space Station and land the space shuttle than for me to fly home to the United States after my training trip to Europe this past week! Just when you think you have it all figured out, Mother Nature throws a curve ball that forces us to reevaluate our place here on the planet.

Volcanic ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland caused most European airspace to be closed because of the potential for ingesting volcanic ash into aircraft engines. The space shuttle landed smoothly at the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, but getting home from Frankfurt was a completely different story!

We had just finished a week of training at the European Space Agency, when Flight Director Bob Dempsey and I found ourselves stranded along with thousands of other passengers in Frankfurt. As more news about the nature of the cloud and our inability to predict or control it became clear, I realized that I needed to make more drastic backup plans if I wanted to salvage precious school vacation time with Jamey and Josh.

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