NASA Ends 5-Astronaut ISS Safe Haven After Russian Leak Repair Halt
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 5
NASA Ends 5-Astronaut ISS Safe Haven After Russian Leak Repair Halt
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 5
Summary
Five of the ISS's seven crew were told to leave the docked SpaceX Dragon "Freedom" and resume normal operations after NASA ended a brief safe-haven order on Friday.
NASA had moved them into the spacecraft and readied them for possible evacuation after a worsening air leak in the Russian PrK transfer tunnel and a repair attempt using a saw raised safety concerns.
Two Russian cosmonauts—Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev—paused the repair, then returned to the station; their backup escape craft was the separately docked Soyuz MS-28.
The leak stems from cracks in the Zvezda service module area that have recurred for about 6 years, with Roscosmos detecting a fresh pressure drop after a cargo ship arrived last month.
The episode underscores a persistent safety dispute on the 27-year-old station, which has never been evacuated despite repeated concern over the Russian-segment leak.