Air Leak Scare Sends ISS Astronauts Racing To Emergency SpaceX Capsule

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station were ordered Friday to shelter inside a docked SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft after a persistent air leak in the Russian section of the orbiting laboratory worsened.  

NASA mission control issued the order at approximately 9:04 a.m. Eastern as Russian cosmonauts worked to repair the leak. Reuters reports a senior NASA official said the leak rate had increased from roughly one pound of air per day to two pounds per day.

Five of the station’s seven crew members temporarily took refuge inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft while two Russian cosmonauts remained in the affected area to carry out repairs. 

American astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, and Chris Williams, French astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev took shelter inside the Dragon capsule.  Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikayev remained aboard the station to address the leak. 

NASA and Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, have reportedly spent months investigating a series of recurring air leaks in a Russian section of the International Space Station.

The latest leak is believed to be associated with the Zvezda service module, a critical Russian-built component that includes living quarters, life-support systems, communications, and propulsion functions. 

NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens said the agency acted out of caution.

“Out of an abundance of caution, Nasa has directed all four of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-12 members and Nasa astronaut Chris Williams to assume an elevated safety posture in the Dragon spacecraft while the repair is under way,” said Stevens. 

Officials later reported that one leak had been while crews continued work on a second. 

After approximately two hours inside teh Dragon spacecraft, NASA instructed the crew to return to normal operations aboard the station.

“Roscosmos has paused Friday’s structural repair efforts inside the Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, as more measurements and data is assessed,” Stevens said.

“Given this development, NASA has instructed the crew members inside the Dragon spacecraft to end the safe haven procedures and return to planned operations aboard the International Space Station. We look forward to working with Roscosmos on a collaborative approach to address the leaks.”

The International Space Station, which is about the size of a football field, serves as a permanent laboratory in space. It is a joint effort between the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

While small air leaks are not uncommon aboard aging spacecraft, officials have said the recurring leaks remain a concern.