Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were briefly placed on evacuation alert on Friday after a worsening air leak was detected in the station’s Russian segment, prompting NASA to order crew members to shelter inside their spacecraft while repair work was carried out. However, the alert was lifted about two hours later and the astronauts were instructed to return to normal operations after NASA and Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, reviewed the latest repair efforts and found no immediate threat to the crew. The precautionary measure affected the four-member Crew-12 mission, who were instructed to enter their docked SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule and wear spacesuits in case an emergency evacuation became necessary. Roscosmos identifies leak locations Roscosmos said two leak sites had been identified in the module’s transition chamber. One of the leaks has already been sealed, while work continues on the second. The Russian space agency said pressure levels aboard the station remain stable and within normal limits, indicating that the repairs have helped contain the problem. Who are the Crew-12 astronauts? The International Space Station is currently home to seven astronauts from two separate missions, including the four-member Crew-12 team, which arrived at the orbital laboratory in February. Crew-12 comprises NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Meir serves as the spacecraft commander, while Hathaway is the pilot. Adenot and Fedyaev both serve as mission specialists, according to NASA. NASA said a fifth astronaut, Chris Williams, was also among those directed to shelter inside the docked Crew Dragon spacecraft during the precautionary safety alert as repairs to the air leak were carried out. Leak has been a concern for years The issue is linked to the PrK transfer tunnel attached to the Zvezda service module, where cracks and small air leaks have been detected several times over the past few years. NASA and Roscosmos have repeatedly investigated and repaired the affected area, but the problem has persisted. According to Reuters, the rate of air loss recently doubled from about one pound per day to two pounds per day, triggering the latest safety measures. NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens said the cracks have long been a major concern for the agency. “The cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely,” Stevens wrote on X.
The post appeared first on .
