All articles tagged with #air leaks
NASA has lifted the shelter‑in‑Dragon order for International Space Station crew, allowing astronauts to resume normal operations as the ongoing air-leak issue is monitored, with Dragon remaining a contingency option if conditions worsen.
NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station were ordered to shelter in their SpaceX Crew Dragon and be ready to evacuate after air leaks in the Russian segment doubled to about two pounds per day; Russian cosmonauts worked to diagnose and repair a leak in a service tunnel between the Zvezda module and a docking module, with airtight doors allowing the tunnel to be isolated. Although repairs enabled a return to normal operation, the crew remains at risk of losing breathable air while orbiting Earth.
Astronauts aboard the ISS were ordered to shelter inside the Crew Dragon due to escalating air leaks in the Zvezda service module. The Crew-12 team—Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir, Sophie Adenot, Andrey Fedyaev, and Chris Williams—spent about 90 minutes in a safe haven while Roscosmos attempted repairs; NASA later said the safe-haven procedures should end and normal ISS operations would resume after the pause in repairs.
NASA ordered the ISS Crew-12 team to shelter inside the docked Crew Dragon after Russian repairs uncovered air leaks in the Zvezda module, with leaks rising to about two pounds of air per day; after about 90 minutes, NASA said the crew should end the safe‑haven status and return to planned ISS operations as Roscosmos continued repairs. The episode underscores ongoing discussions between NASA and Roscosmos about the leaks’ cause, and, despite this temporary safety drill, the ISS has not evacuated in its 27-year history. Crew-12 comprises NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, and NASA astronaut Chris Williams.
NASA directed five of the seven crew aboard the International Space Station to shelter inside the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon 'Freedom' as engineers tackle a worsening air leak in the Zvezda module. The Dragon serves as a lifeboat that could undock at short notice, while two Russian cosmonauts in the Russian segment carry out the repair via Soyuz MS-28. This is a precautionary measure, not a full evacuation, and NASA says it is monitoring the situation and coordinating with Roscosmos on a more permanent fix.
Air leaks in the ISS Zvezda module have been sealed, but a deeper structural mystery persists as NASA and Roscosmos probe root causes for the cracks in the PrK vestibule. The leading theories are high-cycle fatigue from pumps or environmental-assisted cracking. While containment measures and reduced pressurization are used to manage risk, there is no consensus on the severity or pervasiveness of the issue, highlighting challenges in maintaining aging infrastructure in orbit.
The International Space Station, launched in 1998 with a design lifetime of 15 years, is now facing an aging phase with routine air leaks. The recent doubling of air leak rate from the Russian side of the station is being treated as a minor annoyance, with the leak located in the PrK chamber of the Zvezda module. While NASA and Russian engineers are working to locate and patch the leak, it is not currently posing a risk to the crew or the station.