Space station leak concerns will delay visit by astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A chartered spaceflight for India, Poland and Hungary's first astronauts in decades has been delayed indefinitely because of leak concerns at the International Space Station.
NASA said Thursday that it wants to monitor the cabin pressure on the Russian side of the orbiting lab before accepting visitors. Officials stressed that the seven astronauts currently at the space station are safe and that other operations up there aren't affected.
SpaceX was supposed to launch four private astronauts this week on a 14-day space station mission, but bad weather and SpaceX rocket trouble delayed the flight. Then the station leak issue cropped up.
The Russian Space Agency has been dealing with a cabin pressure leak at the station, and recent repairs resulted in what NASA calls 'a new pressure signature.' Additional details were not immediately available.
The three Russians aboard the space station recently inspected the inside walls of the aging Zvezda service module, which was launched in 2000. They sealed some areas and measured the current leak rate.
'Following this effort, the segment now is holding pressure,' NASA said in an online update.
Wednesdays
Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture.
The private mission's delay provides extra time for NASA and the Russian Space Agency 'to evaluate the situation' and determine whether more repairs are needed.
The chartered flight was arranged by the Houston company Axiom Space, and was to be Axiom's fourth trip to the space station with paying customers since 2022.
'This is the right thing to do,' Axiom Space's executive chairman Kam Ghaffarian said in a written statement. 'We will continue to work with all of our partners to finalize a new launch date.'
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
8 hours ago
- Toronto Star
2 Chinese scientists will stay in jail while accused of bringing biological material to US
DETROIT (AP) — Two Chinese scientists accused of smuggling or shipping biological material into the United States for use at the University of Michigan will remain in custody after waiving their right to a hearing Friday in federal court. Yunqing Jian and Chengxuan Han said in separate court appearances in Detroit that they would not challenge the government's request to keep them locked up while their cases move forward. 'This is a constantly evolving situation involving a large number of factors,' Han's attorney, Sara Garber, told a judge. She didn't elaborate and later declined to comment. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Han was arrested Sunday at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after arriving on a flight from China, where she is pursuing an advanced degree at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. She planned to spend a year completing a project at the University of Michigan lab, and is accused of shipping biological material months ago to laboratory staff. It was intercepted by authorities. The FBI, in a court filing, said the material is related to worms and lacked a government permit. Experts told The Associated Press it didn't appear to be dangerous. Jian's case is different. She is charged with conspiring with her boyfriend, another scientist from China, to bring a toxic fungus into the U.S. Fusarium graminearum can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice. The boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, was turned away at the Detroit airport last July and sent back to China after authorities found red plant material in his backpack. Jian, who worked at the university lab, was arrested June 2. Messages between Jian and Liu in 2024 suggest that Jian was already tending to Fusarium graminearum at the lab before Liu was caught at the airport, the FBI said. Jian's attorneys declined to comment Friday. Federal authorities so far have not alleged that the scientists had a plan to unleash the fungus somewhere. Fusarium graminearum is already prevalent in the U.S. — particularly in the east and Upper Midwest — and scientists have been studying it for decades. Nicknamed 'vomitoxin' because it's most known for causing livestock to throw up, it can also cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache and fever in animals and people. Researchers often bring foreign plants, animals and even strains of fungi to the U.S. to study them, but they must file certain permits before moving anything across state or national borders. The university has not been accused of misconduct. It said it has received no money from the Chinese government related to the work of the three scientists. In a statement, it said it strongly condemns any actions that 'seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university's critical public mission.'
Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
2 Chinese scientists will stay in jail while accused of bringing biological material to US
DETROIT (AP) — Two Chinese scientists accused of smuggling or shipping biological material into the United States for use at the University of Michigan will remain in custody after waiving their right to a hearing Friday in federal court. Yunqing Jian and Chengxuan Han said in separate court appearances in Detroit that they would not challenge the government's request to keep them locked up while their cases move forward. 'This is a constantly evolving situation involving a large number of factors,' Han's attorney, Sara Garber, told a judge. She didn't elaborate and later declined to comment. Han was arrested Sunday at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after arriving on a flight from China, where she is pursuing an advanced degree at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. She planned to spend a year completing a project at the University of Michigan lab, and is accused of shipping biological material months ago to laboratory staff. It was intercepted by authorities. The FBI, in a court filing, said the material is related to worms and lacked a government permit. Experts told The Associated Press it didn't appear to be dangerous. Jian's case is different. She is charged with conspiring with her boyfriend, another scientist from China, to bring a toxic fungus into the U.S. Fusarium graminearum can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice. The boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, was turned away at the Detroit airport last July and sent back to China after authorities found red plant material in his backpack. Jian, who worked at the university lab, was arrested June 2. Messages between Jian and Liu in 2024 suggest that Jian was already tending to Fusarium graminearum at the lab before Liu was caught at the airport, the FBI said. Jian's attorneys declined to comment Friday. Federal authorities so far have not alleged that the scientists had a plan to unleash the fungus somewhere. Fusarium graminearum is already prevalent in the U.S. — particularly in the east and Upper Midwest — and scientists have been studying it for decades. Nicknamed 'vomitoxin' because it's most known for causing livestock to throw up, it can also cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache and fever in animals and people. Researchers often bring foreign plants, animals and even strains of fungi to the U.S. to study them, but they must file certain permits before moving anything across state or national borders. The university has not been accused of misconduct. It said it has received no money from the Chinese government related to the work of the three scientists. In a statement, it said it strongly condemns any actions that 'seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university's critical public mission.'
Toronto Star
a day ago
- Toronto Star
Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos is released from federal custody on bail
BOSTON (AP) — A judge released a Russian-born scientist and Harvard University researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos into the United States on bail Thursday after a brief hearing. Kseniia Petrova, 30, who was brought into court wearing an orange jumpsuit, had been in federal custody since February. She was seen walking out of the courthouse laughing and hugging supporters.
