NASA briefly sheltered space station astronauts in SpaceX’s Dragon due to leaks

On Friday, five astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) temporarily sheltered in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft while Russian engineers worked on fixing a leaking service module. NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens announced on social media that the leaks were recently detected by Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, prompting the agency to initiate a comprehensive repair operation. To ensure the safety of the crew, NASA instructed the four members of the Crew-12 mission, along with NASA astronaut Chris Williams, to remain in the Dragon capsule during the repair efforts. Stevens emphasized the importance of collaboration with Russian counterparts and the international community to find a lasting solution to the ongoing issues with the service module. Shortly after the initial announcement, Stevens provided an update indicating that Roscosmos had paused the repair work to gather additional measurements and data. Consequently, NASA lifted the sheltering order, allowing the crew to resume normal operations aboard the ISS. The Russian service module has faced leak issues for an extended period, which have been closely monitored by NASA. Currently, the ISS hosts ten individuals, including astronauts from NASA, the European Space Agency, and Russian cosmonauts, with some having arrived in previous missions. This incident occurs at a pivotal time for the ISS, as NASA, under the direction of new administrator Jared Isaacman, is exploring plans to transition from the aging space station to commercially built modules in the coming years. Updates will continue as the situation develops.