Accidents

ISS Crew Briefly Shelters Following Air Leaks

Is Russia's negligence putting lives at risk or is this a complex engineering mystery beyond blame?

Published JUN 5

ISS Crew Briefly Shelters Following Air Leaks

Story

Above: Crew-12 astronauts walk to SpaceX Dragon launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 13. Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

NASA ordered five International Space Station (ISS) crew members to shelter inside the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon "Freedom" spacecraft on Friday as Russian cosmonauts attempted repairs on air leaks in the Zvezda service module's PrK transfer tunnel.
Bethany Stevens on X
TASS
The shelter order was lifted roughly two hours later after Roscosmos paused its repair efforts to assess measurements and data. NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens said crew members were instructed to "end the safe haven procedures and return to planned operations."
Bethany Stevens on X
TASS
Roscosmos reported that two leaks were identified during an inspection of the PrK tunnel. The first was sealed using a two-component sealant called Germetall1, while work was underway to address the second, reportedly located on the conical section of the tunnel.
Tech Digest
EuroNews
The leak rate in the Zvezda module escalated earlier that week from approximately one pound of air per day to two pounds, according to a senior NASA official. The leak was first reported by Roscosmos in September 2019 and has persisted for roughly six years.
BBC News
Earthsky
The five crew members who sheltered in the Dragon capsule were NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev are presumed to have carried out the repair work.
CNN
Space
The ISS, which has been continuously occupied since November 2000, is scheduled to be decommissioned by 2030. The recurring leaks in the aging Russian segment have been cited as a factor in end-of-life planning for the orbital laboratory.
Space
USA Today

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Russia's shoddy materials on the ISS have caused a dangerous, growing air leak that's been ignored for years. The U.S. has no business continuing to partner with Russia in space when its negligence is putting astronauts' lives at risk. It's time to cut ties and stop pretending this cooperation is working.

Adam Kinzinger on X

Narrative B

The Zvezda module air leak is a complex engineering failure that neither NASA nor Russia fully understands. Microscopic cracks have stumped engineers since 2019, with multiple repair attempts only partially reducing a leak now rated at the highest risk level. Blaming one side misses the point.

Bethany Stevens on X