A deteriorating air leak on the International Space Station (ISS) led to five astronauts seeking refuge and preparing for potential evacuation for approximately two hours on Friday while Russia worked to repair a crack on its part of the space lab, as per NASA.
The four Crew-12 mission astronauts — two American astronauts, one astronaut from France, and a Russian cosmonaut — along with another U.S. astronaut were instructed by NASA mission control at 9:04 a.m. ET on Friday to enter their SpaceX-built Crew Dragon spacecraft attached to the station, stated NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens.
After about two hours, NASA rescinded the order and informed the astronauts they could return to the station as both NASA and its Russian counterparts assessed the air leak rate.
NASA and Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, the primary operators of the station, have been in discussions for months regarding the cause and potential solutions for small air leaks on Russia’s Zvezda service module, a crucial part of the ISS where astronauts reside and work in space.
Chris Cassidy, former NASA chief astronaut who led Expedition 63 on the ISS in 2020, revealed that staff were initially informed of a leak at that time.
Roscosmos indicated that its experts identified two leaks on the ISS on Friday but clarified that there was no immediate danger to the crew.
Efforts were underway to seal the first leak quickly, with preparations initiated to address the second one, as per Roscosmos, which assured that the spacecraft’s systems were not at risk.
Although air leaks have been minor in recent months, the rate escalated from one pound per day to two pounds on Friday, stated a senior NASA official anonymously.
The ISS is currently hosting seven astronauts from two missions, including the Crew-12 team who arrived in February.
Kud-Sverchkov and Mikayev, who did not follow evacuation procedures, were planning to use a saw to access the crack leaking air, which NASA officials disagreed with, prompting safe-haven protocols from mission control in Houston.
Safe-haven orders are infrequent on the ISS, triggered by potential collisions with space debris or fluctuations in air leak rates. Evacuation has never been necessary in the 27-year history of the ISS.
The bill to extend the ISS’s life until 2032 is supported by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Maria Cantwell, aiming to counter China’s expanding influence in space.
U.S. Senate and House leaders are collaborating to reach a consensus on the proposed legislation.