ISS Crew Shelters

NASA Directs Five ISS Crew Members to SpaceX Dragon Amid Zvezda Module Air Leak

NASA ordered five ISS crew members to take shelter in the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon while Russian cosmonauts worked on worsening air leaks in the Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK. NASA said the “safe haven” order was issued out of an abundance of caution after the leak rate reportedly rose from about one pound of air per day to about two pounds amid months of disagreement with Roscosmos over the cause and potential fixes. During roughly 90 minutes to two hours, engineers continued assessing measurements, and NASA later instructed the astronauts to end the procedures and return to normal operations. Roscosmos reported detecting two leaks, quickly sealing one and preparing a more extensive repair for the second, while also pausing structural repair efforts as additional data was evaluated. NASA said one method under consideration by the Russian side was not approved, and that the agencies have been working for an extended period to identify and mitigate microscopic crack sources. The incident highlighted that shelter orders are rare and that a full ISS evacuation has never been completed since the station began operating in 1998.

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