NASA Astronauts Directed to Shelter Due to Air Leak

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has instructed astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to stay in their spacecraft as Russian crews work to address a serious air leak.

This directive was given on Friday and included the four astronauts from NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission—Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway—along with ESA/French astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. The order also extended to another crew with U.S. astronaut Chris Williams and cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev.

At 9:04 a.m. EDT, mission control advised the astronauts to enter their Crew Dragon spacecraft and wear their spacesuits as a precaution during ongoing structural repairs.

“Following new leaks, Roscosmos has elected to proceed with a more extensive repair operation on Friday, June 5,” stated Bethany Stevens, a NASA spokeswoman, via X.

The leak is originating from the transfer tunnel in Russia’s Zvezda service module, a crucial component of the ISS. This issue, which has been monitored closely due to safety concerns, escalated from one pound of air loss per day to two pounds on Friday.

Despite attempts to patch the leaks over the past six years, a recent drop in cabin pressure spurred Roscosmos to undertake a more comprehensive repair effort, prompting NASA’s safety protocols to kick in.

Discussions between NASA and Roscosmos regarding the causes and long-term solutions have been ongoing for months, with the Russian space agency handling the situation through temporary fixes in the interim.

However, the extensive repair work announced on Friday didn’t last long. Although NASA reported that Roscosmos would proceed with significant repair efforts, the Russian engineers decided to pause the operation to gather more data.

“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,” NASA noted.

With repair efforts currently on hold, NASA lifted the “safe haven” protocol, enabling the crew to exit the Dragon capsule and resume normal operations aboard the ISS.