NASA revealed new details regarding the ongoing air leak at the International Space Station (ISS), noting that a repair plan that was underway caused the warning level to be raised inside the station last week, before it was later suspended.
The agency explained that the Russian space agency “Roscosmos” had proposed a plan that included cutting a support inside the “Zvezda” module with the aim of better access to an area believed to be the source of the leak, but this step could have led to structural risks for the Russian part of the station.
According to NASA, the plan has been temporarily suspended pending the collection of more data and the conduct of additional examinations of suspicious areas.
The air leak on the International Space Station dates back to 2019, when it was first detected in the Russian part of the station, specifically in the “Brickem” module connected to the “Zvezda” module, but the problem continued and gradually worsened over the past years.
During the past week, an increase in the leakage rate was observed from about one pound of air per day to about two pounds, which prompted Roscosmos to prepare a more stringent plan to deal with the problem, which included expanded remedial measures.
Recent developments also prompted NASA’s control center to direct the space station crew, which includes a number of astronauts from the United States, the European Space Agency, and Russia, to take shelter inside the SpaceX Dragon vehicle temporarily as a precaution, before things are returned to normal later after the repair plan is suspended.
NASA confirmed its support for the decision to suspend work, indicating continued cooperation with the Russian side to assess the situation and take appropriate steps, at a time when the leak is still ongoing without a final solution yet.
