NASA Shelters 5 Astronauts in Dragon as Roscosmos Weighs Drilling ISS Leak

3 articles · Updated · Futurism · Jun 18

Five astronauts took shelter in a docked Dragon on June 5 after NASA judged Roscosmos’s planned leak repair in the ISS PrK tunnel too risky.
The dispute centered on proposals to drill into the module or saw off a load-bearing bracket to stop an air leak that has persisted since at least 2019.
NASA officials said they feared a “very high probability” of a bad outcome, and the shelter order was enough to make Roscosmos stand down after communications broke down.
The PrK section linking Zvezda to the aft docking port is now expected to be decommissioned and left unpressurized, limiting use of the attached dock.
The episode underscores growing strain over how to manage the aging station after two decades of continuous habitation and recurring leak concerns.

Sources

Futurism1d ago

NASA Astronauts Shelter as Roscosmos Threatens Drastic ISS Leak Repairs

UNILAD Tech13h ago

NASA orders emergency evacuation after Russia threatened to use a 'saw' on the ISS

WION10h ago

NASA says Russian space agency wanted to 'drill and saw' the ISS leak wall

8 Sources

How will the US-Russia space partnership survive a standoff that nearly sawed a hole in the International Space Station?

The ISS leak is a warning. What is the true cost of delaying critical repairs on aging megastructures everywhere?

What does this near-disaster teach us about managing risk for future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars?

16 Cracks and a Standoff: The 2026 Decommissioning of the ISS PrK Module and Its Lessons for Future Space Stations

Overview

In June 2026, a crisis unfolded on the International Space Station when new cracks were found in the Zvezda module’s PrK tunnel, raising the total to about 16. Roscosmos planned a risky repair using a saw and drill, but NASA strongly disagreed and directed astronauts to shelter in the Crew Dragon capsule. After a tense standoff, Roscosmos paused the repair and switched to a less invasive method. Intensive discussions led Russia to fully decommission the PrK module, permanently sealing it off. This decision finally retired a long-standing risk of rapid depressurization, marking a major step forward for ISS safety and longevity.

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