Astronauts onboard the International Space Station have been told to return to normal duties after previously being on evacuation alert due to a worsening air leak.
The four astronauts of Nasa’s Crew-12 mission on the station – two US astronauts, a French astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut – received orders from Nasa mission control at 9.04am ET (2pm BST) on Friday to enter their Crew Dragon spacecraft docked to the station and don their spacesuits in case the air leak warranted an emergency evacuation, a Nasa official said.
But on Friday afternoon Nasa spokesperson Bethany Stevens announced that Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, had paused structural repairs as measurements and data is assessed.
In a post on X she 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.”
Nasa and Roscosmos, the station’s two primary operators, have debated for months over the cause and potential fixes of small air leaks onboard Russia’s Zvezda service module, a key structure of the football-pitch-sized laboratory.
The air leaks have been relatively minor in recent months. But on Monday the problem escalated from one pound of air a day to two pounds (0.9kg), a senior Nasa official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
According to Russia’s Interfax news, Roscosmos said its experts had detected two oxygen leaks aboard the ISS but there was no immediate threat to the crew.
The first leak was quickly sealed, and preparations were under way to seal the second one, Roscosmos said.
Earlier Stevens said the order for the four crew to prepare for evacuation was made “out of an abundance of caution.” In a post on X she said: “The Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, has suffered from cracks and leaks for some time, and has been mitigated by Roscosmos as much as possible to date.
“The cracks have always been a concern that Nasa watches very closely. Nasa and Roscosmos have been working to determine the root cause of the cracks, and Roscosmos manages the issue through operational mitigation measures and periodic partial-repair efforts. Following new leaks, Roscosmos has elected to proceed with a more extensive repair operation on Friday.”
Stevens added: “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. We continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution.” (The Guardian)
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