Latest news with #airleak
Gizmodo
31-07-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
The Space Station's Russian Segment Won't Stop Leaking Air
A pesky air leak on the International Space Station (ISS) just won't quit. Although the crew hoped they had sealed the last crack on the Russian module, long-term observations revealed that the ISS is still leaking air. During a recent press conference, a Roscosmos official told reporters that recent attempts to fix the leak have slowed down the rate of air leaving the space station but that it's not yet completely sealed. 'The leak is ongoing,' Russian news agency TASS reported. 'We continue our efforts to find and fix it, with the recent repairs having seriously reduced the rate of air leakage,' Sergey Krikalyov, the executive director of manned space programs at Roscosmos, told reporters on Wednesday. 'For some time we even thought that we had found the last crack and sealed it, though long-term observations have shown that it continues.' Roscosmos first reported the leak in September 2019, tracing it to the vestibule (named PrK) that connects a docking port to the Russian Zvezda module, which the space agency had launched to low Earth orbit in July 2000. Over the past six years, the rate at which the air is leaking doubled from one pound a day to a little over two pounds a day, according to a report released in 2024. That led NASA to elevate the leak to the highest level of risk. At the time, it was reported that NASA and Roscosmos could not agree on the root cause of the leak or a way to fix it. Later in June, things seemed a bit more promising. NASA postponed the launch of the private Axiom 4 mission to the ISS, which was originally scheduled for June 11, citing a new pressure signal in the Zvezda module. NASA explained that the pressure signal, or a change in airflow or cabin pressure picked up by sensors, may be a sign that the leaks have been sealed following recent attempts to repair it. As it turns out, this is one tough leak to seal. Roscosmos, however, is not giving up. 'It is important for all of us to make sure that such situations do not arise at future stations,' Krikalyov said. If necessary, the space agencies could agree to permanently shut off the hatch to the Russian module. Without access to Zvezda, the ISS would operate normally except there would be one less docking port for spacecraft delivering cargo to the crew.
The National
16-06-2025
- Science
- The National
New air leak renews scrutiny over ageing International Space Station
An air leak on the International Space Station has raised concerns about how much longer the lab can keep operating safely. Nasa said the leak had been sealed but the incident cast doubt on when a private astronaut mission by Axiom Space, involving the first Indian astronaut in 41 years, would be launched. The leak was found in a Russian section of the station called Zvezda, which was added to the ISS as a module in 2000. Modules are self-contained units that are one part of the complete station structure. While the pressure in that area is now stable, meaning air is no longer escaping, Nasa and its international partners must ensure the station is safe before allowing the next crew to take off. Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX regularly launches missions to the ISS, weighed in on the issue, posting on X that some parts of it are 'simply getting too old' and that he recommends the station be retired within two years. 'There are potentially serious concerns about the long-term safety of the space station. Even though SpaceX earns billions of dollars from transporting astronauts and cargo to the ISS, I nonetheless would like to go on record recommending that it be de-orbited within two years,' he said. This is not the first time Zvezda has encountered problems, with smaller air leaks reported several times. These have forced astronauts to carry out repairs, forcing limited access to certain parts of the station. Dr Sarath Raj, project director at Amity University Dubai's satellite ground station, said the leaks would entail more than merely minor repairs. 'These are visible signs of the ageing station approaching its engineering and operational limits," he said. 'The ISS has endured severe thermal cycling, micrometeoroid impacts and the unavoidable material fatigue of long-duration space infrastructure. 'These leaks are manageable currently, but they reflect the station's increasing maintenance requirements and highlight the challenging process of procuring legacy parts for repairs.' Nasa already plans to retire the space station by 2030 and has awarded a contract to SpaceX to build a special vehicle to guide it back into Earth's atmosphere for a controlled re-entry. The ISS has been a symbol of international co-operation since it was launched in 1998. It is operated jointly by the US, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada. Astronauts from around the world have lived and worked on the station at various points, carrying out scientific experiments, including two from the UAE and two from Saudi Arabia. Dr Raj said retiring the ISS too early could cause a gap for Nasa and its partners who want to carry out research in low-Earth orbit. Companies such as Blue Origin and Axiom Space are developing private stations, yet to be launched. The Tiangong, operated by China, is the only other orbital station. Chinese astronauts have been living and working there since 2021. 'These incidents carry a broader geopolitical significance,' said Dr Raj. "China stands ready to fill any leadership vacuum that may emerge. 'If commercial replacements for the ISS are not ready in time, China could find itself in a position to exert disproportionate influence over the future of orbital operations, standards and partnerships in low-Earth orbit. 'This potential shift isn't just about national pride. It has real implications for future space governance, commercial investment and scientific access to space.' Sahith Madara, founder of advisory firm Bumi & Space, said China's deals are part of a bigger strategy to expand its influence. 'Unlike western agencies, which come with a fair share of regulations and geopolitical strings attached, China offers a more flexible and budget-friendly route – think of it as the low-cost carrier of space partnerships, minus the hidden fees, or so it seems,' he said. China is opening up access to Tiangong for other countries, with an agreement between Beijing and Islamabad already signed to send a Pakistani astronaut to the station. The Chinese have opened up their space programme to other nations, such as Saudi Arabia, Brazil and several African countries, offering to launch satellites and collaborate on lunar missions. 'But there's always 'fine print',' said Mr Madara. "While China provides the rocket ride, the technology transfer is often limited, meaning some nations could find themselves reliant on Chinese systems rather than developing their own. Plus, aligning too closely with China might not sit well with western allies, leading to awkward geopolitical dinner conversations.' The private mission to the ISS by Axiom Space is now tentatively scheduled for June 19. SpaceX also had to fix a separate issue with the rocket before it could be launched.
Gizmodo
13-06-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
NASA Delays Private Mission to ISS as Russian Module Leak Worsens
The Russian space agency first detected the leak in 2019 and has spent years trying to fix it. A concerning development with an air leak on the International Space Station (ISS) has prompted NASA to indefinitely delay the launch of Axiom Mission 4 for ongoing investigations. On Thursday, NASA announced that it was working with Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, to understand a 'new pressure signature' in a segment of the Zvezda service module. As a result, NASA and Axiom Space postponed the launch of the company's fourth private mission to the ISS, which was scheduled for Wednesday, without setting a new date. The Roscosmos space agency first reported the leak in August 2020. It was found in the Russian Zvezda life support module, which Russia launched to low Earth orbit in July 2000. Since then, the rate at which air is leaking from the Zvezda service module has doubled from one pound a day to a little over two pounds a day, according to a report released in 2024. This week, NASA revealed that Russian cosmonauts on board the ISS 'recently performed inspections of the pressurized module's interior surfaces, sealed some additional areas of interest, and measured the current leak rate.' Following the inspections, it was revealed that the 'segment is now holding pressure,' NASA wrote. 'The postponement of Axiom Mission 4 provides additional time for NASA and Roscosmos to evaluate the situation and determine whether any additional troubleshooting is necessary,' NASA said in its statement. 'NASA defers to Roscosmos to answer specific questions about the Zvezda module.' Last year, NASA elevated the leak to the highest level of risk. At the time, it was reported that NASA and Roscosmos could not agree on the root cause of the leak or a way to fix it. That still appears to be the case today. Although NASA has stressed that the leak poses no immediate threat to the astronauts currently on board, the recent postponement of the Ax-4 mission is worrying; the delay is raising questions about the mission and its international crew. Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who holds the national record for the most cumulative days spent in space, is serving as mission commander, joined by pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, mission specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and mission specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The three countries are sending astronauts to the ISS for the first time in the station's more than 25-year history—though the timing is less than ideal, with the station grappling with aging hardware.
Reuters
13-06-2025
- Science
- Reuters
Russian space agency says it fixed a leak on its segment of space station, Ifax reports
MOSCOW, June 13 (Reuters) - Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Friday that a leak on the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) had been repaired, the Interfax news agency reported. NASA on Thursday indefinitely delayed a four-person crew's mission to the ISS over an escalating probe into air leaks aboard the orbiting laboratory's Russian segment.
CBS News
12-06-2025
- Science
- CBS News
NASA delays commercial crew launch to assess space station air leak
Concern about a small but persistent air leak in a Russian compartment of the International Space Station has prompted NASA and Axiom Space to indefinitely delay this week's launch of a commercial flight to the orbiting outpost, officials said Thursday. The privately-financed Axiom-4 crew — commander Peggy Whitson, Indian pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, Polish researcher Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Hungarian engineer Tibor Kapu — originally planned to take off Tuesday. The International Space Station as seen during a fly-around by Russian cosmonauts aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. The Zvezda service module is visible at bottom center where the station's aft docking port is located. Roscosmos But the flight was delayed to the end of the week, first by high winds in the off-shore emergency splashdown zone and then by an oxygen leak in their Falcon 9 rocket's first stage. SpaceX tentatively targeted Thursday and then Friday for launch, with Saturday and Sunday available if needed. But during SpaceX troubleshooting to find and fix the rocket's propellant leak, NASA engineers decided they needed more time to assess recent efforts to plug an air leak aboard the International Space Station in a Russian vestibule known as the PrK. The PrK serves as a passageway between the station's Zvezda module and spacecraft docked at its aft port. "Teams met today and we will not be launching Axiom-4 tomorrow," flight controllers in Houston radioed the ISS. "We are assessing a new launch date. This is due to the ongoing PrK investigation. So I don't have a new launch date right now, but we will not be launching tomorrow and docking Saturday." An interior vestibule in the Zvezda service module, seen here in a closeup shot, provides access to the rear docking port where Progress cargo ships attach. Zvezda was launched to the space station in July 2000 and a small-but-persistent air leak in the vestibule, first noticed in 2019, has raised concern about the integrity of the aging hardware. Roscosmos In a blog post, NASA said cosmonauts aboard the station "recently performed inspections of the pressurized module's interior surfaces, sealed some additional areas of interest, and measured the current leak rate. Following this effort, the segment now is holding pressure." The post went on to say the Axiom-4 delay will provide "additional time for NASA and (the Russian space agency) Roscosmos to evaluate the situation and determine whether any additional troubleshooting is necessary." Launched in July 2000 atop a Russian Proton rocket, Zvezda was the third module to join the growing space station, providing a command center for Russian cosmonauts, crew quarters, the aft docking port and two additional ports now occupied by airlock and research modules. The leakage was first noticed in 2019, and has been openly discussed ever since by NASA during periodic reviews and space station news briefings. The leak rate has varied, but has stayed in the neighborhood of around 1-to-2 pounds per day. "The station is not young," astronaut Mike Barratt said last November during a post flight news conference. "It's been up there for quite a while, and you expect some wear and tear, and we're seeing that in the form of some cracks that have formed." The Russians have made a variety of attempts to patch a suspect crack and other possible sources of leakage, but air has continued to escape into space. This NASA graphic shows the current status of the International Space Station's docking ports. The PrK compartment is a passageway from the Russian Zvezda module and spacecraft docked at the module's aft port. CBS News/NASA In November, Bob Cabana, a former astronaut and NASA manager who chaired the agency's ISS Advisory Committee, said U.S. and Russian engineers "don't have a common understanding of what the likely root cause is, or the severity of the consequences of these leaks." "The Russian position is that the most probable cause of the PrK cracks is high cyclic fatigue caused by micro vibrations," Cabana said. "NASA believes the PrK cracks are likely multi-causal including pressure and mechanical stress, residual stress, material properties and environmental exposures. "The Russians believe that continued operations are safe, but they can't prove to our satisfaction that they are, and the US believes that it's not safe, but we can't prove that to the Russian satisfaction that that's the case." As an interim step, the hatch leading to the PrK and the station's aft docking compartment is closed during daily operations and only opened when the Russians need to unload a visiting Progress cargo ship. And as an added precaution on NASA's part, whenever the hatch to the PrK and docking compartment is open, a hatch between the Russian and U.S. segments of the station is closed. "We've taken a very conservative approach to close a hatch between the US side and the Russian side during those time periods," Barratt said. "It's not a comfortable thing, but it is the best agreement between all the smart people on both sides. And it's something that we crew live with and enact." Cabana said last year that the Russians do not believe "catastrophic disintegration of the PrK is realistic (but) NASA has expressed concerns about the structural integrity of the PrK and the possibility of a catastrophic failure."
