The saga of the International Space Station air leak took a worrying turn Friday
Summary
Five astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) briefly took shelter inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft while Russian cosmonauts worked on an air leak in the Russian part of the station. The leak comes from tiny cracks in a module, and repairs are ongoing, though no permanent fix has been found yet.Key Facts
- Five of the seven ISS crew members entered the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for safety while a repair was underway.
- The air leak is located in the Russian Zvezda Service Module, specifically in a transfer tunnel called PrK.
- The cracks causing the leaks are very small and have been monitored for over five years.
- Russian cosmonauts are conducting a detailed repair operation to fix the leak.
- NASA directed the US astronauts to assume a safe position during the repair as a precaution.
- After about 90 minutes, the crew was allowed to return to the station once the immediate repair task was paused.
- NASA and Roscosmos plan to continue working together on a long-term solution for the leak.
- The SpaceX Crew Dragon serves as a lifeboat for the US crew until they return to Earth in September.
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