NASA Updates Worsening ISS Leak After Crew Safety Alert
NASA said the leak rate rose to about 2 pounds a day during Progress 95 cargo operations, prompting Roscosmos to pause repair work.
- On Friday, June 5, NASA ordered five crew members—four Crew-12 astronauts and Chris Williams—to shelter inside the docked SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as a precautionary measure during Roscosmos' planned repairs on the International Space Station's leaking Zvezda module.
- During Progress 95 cargo operations last week, Roscosmos detected a higher leak rate of two pounds per day in the PrK transfer tunnel. Engineers identified new suspected leak areas within the Zvezda module, where atmospheric loss has persisted for nearly seven years.
- Citing structural risks, NASA officials opposed Roscosmos' proposed strategy to use a saw to access the crack. The Russian agency paused repair efforts to gather additional measurements and inspect suspected areas before proceeding.
- After Roscosmos paused the repair effort, NASA reversed its safe-haven orders approximately two hours later. NASA wrote that it "strongly supported that decision," expressing relief the agency was no longer planning to cut into the station's structure.
- The air leak remains unresolved, with NASA and Roscosmos continuing to disagree on when the situation becomes unsustainable. Future repair attempts are anticipated, though officials hope to avoid aggressive structural modifications to the International Space Station.
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12 Articles
A known leak recently forced the ISS crew into a rescue pod. The episode shows how much the aging space station is reaching its limits.
NASA updates worsening ISS leak after crew safety alert
NASA says a long-running air leak aboard the ISS recently worsened, leading engineers to investigate new suspected crack locations and consider a riskier repair strategy. Astronauts were temporarily moved into a safe haven as a precaution before the repair was postponed for further analysis.
The International Space Station (ISS) was in a state of maximum alert in recent days. At the origin of this fear in orbit: a leak of air located at the level of a module in the Russian part of the station. Astronauts, including Frenchwoman Sophie Adenot, were ordered to confide. Finally, more fear than evil but something to inspire Lindingre, our draftsman of the day.
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