Work on Russia’s leaky space station module causes astronauts to take shelter

In a precautionary measure, five of the seven crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) took shelter inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on Friday morning. This decision came as two Russian cosmonauts worked to address an air leak affecting the Russian segment of the ISS. Shortly after 9 a.m. EST (14:00 UTC), NASA directed US astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, along with French astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, to enter the Crew Dragon spacecraft, known as Freedom. This capsule, which had transported them to the station during the Crew-12 mission in February, serves as their lifeboat until they are scheduled to return to Earth in September. NASA astronaut Chris Williams, who arrived at the ISS via a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, also joined them in the Dragon. NASA mission control communicated the need for the crew to enact Emergency Procedure 3.4, which involves establishing a safe haven within the Crew Dragon. They added that if necessary, the astronauts would be instructed to suit up for added safety. A NASA representative later confirmed via a statement on social media that the sheltering directive was linked to ongoing repairs regarding persistent air leaks in the Russian segment of the station. Engineers from both Roscosmos and NASA have monitored these leaks for over five years, particularly from a transfer tunnel in Russia’s Zvezda Service Module. This tunnel, referred to by its Russian acronym PrK, connects to a docking port for resupply missions. The leaks are believed to stem from tiny cracks in the module’s structure. Despite numerous inspections and repair attempts by Russian cosmonauts, a lasting solution has proven elusive. Earlier this year, pressure stability was achieved for a few months within the PrK, but Roscosmos confirmed in May that the air leaks had reemerged, prompting heightened vigilance from the crew.