NASA Ordered ISS Crew Into Dragon Refuge Over Russian Module Cracks Since 2019
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Jun 15
NASA Ordered ISS Crew Into Dragon Refuge Over Russian Module Cracks Since 2019
3 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Jun 15
Summary
NASA sent its ISS astronauts into a Crew Dragon safe haven on June 5 after worsening cracks and leaks in the Russian Zvezda module’s PrK section raised fears of depressurization.
Early-June leak growth and a Russian repair plan alarmed NASA enough to take the emergency step, even though Roscosmos disclosed little publicly about the work underway.
Russia later backed away from that proposed fix to conduct more measurements and inspections, and NASA said the astronauts then ended safe-haven procedures and resumed normal station operations.
The PrK leak problem has persisted since 2019, with Russian crews repeatedly applying Germetall-1 sealant; Roscosmos had said the leaks stabilized earlier this year before they resumed in May.