The International Space Station lost contact with NASA ground control on Tuesday because of a computer problem.
NASA said flight controllers in Houston were updating software on board the station's flight computers on Tuesday when a data relay system on one of the station broke down.
AAP reports the agency was later able to communicate briefly with the crew as the space station flew over Russian ground stations.
NASA instructed them to connect a backup computer to begin the process of restoring communications.
The International Space Station marked its 10th anniversary of continuous human occupation on 2 November, 2010. Since 2000, the space station has been visited by 204 individuals.
The current crew is made up six men: two Americans, three Russians and a Canadian.
