An astronaut has told how he accidentally called 911 from space, sending security teams at NASA’s Houston base into a frenzy.

André Kuipers missed out a number when making a call through HQ back on Earth — and ended up connecting to U.S. emergency services. The astronomical blunder sparked panic at the Johnson Space Centre in Texas and a security team was scrambled to the room where the call was put through.

He had been orbiting Earth in the International Space Station when he tried to make the call. The 60-year-old spaceman explained how he had pressed 9 to make an outside call. He then tried to phone internationally by pressing 011, but mistakenly left out the zero. Oblivious to the chaos he caused, the Dutchman said he only realized his error when he received an email the following day.