Air is leaking from cracks in the hull of the International Space Station, specifically from the Russian segment. NASA says everything is under control, despite warnings from its own watchdog that leaks are the station’s biggest problem.
The small PrC module, which sits between the airlock where Progress cargo ships dock and the Zvezda module, has been leaking air into space since September 2019, a fact that both NASA and Roscosmos have known for a long time.
The severity of the problem
A report released on September 26 by NASA’s inspector general contains details that have not been previously made public and that underscore the severity of the problem.
For example, in February of this year, atmospheric leakage increased from less than 450 grams per day to 1.1 kg per day, and in April this figure jumped to 1.7 kg per day. Despite years of investigation, neither Russian nor U.S. officials have identified the main cause of the leak.
“Although the root cause of the leak remains unknown, both agencies suspect internal and external welds to be the problem,” the report, signed by Deputy Inspector General George A. Scott, said.
The risk mitigation plan is to keep the hatch on the Zvezda module leading to the control room closed. Over time, if the leak worsens, this hatch may have to be closed permanently, reducing the number of Russian docking ports on the ISS from four to three.
Detecting cracks
According to the Washington Post, a NASA spokesman and his assistant administrator downplayed the seriousness of the cracks and leaks on the Russian part of the ISS that were the focus of a new inspector general’s report.
However, speaking to WP about the report, NASA Assistant Administrator James Free noted that the issue had been passed on to Russian counterparts – without specifying whether anything had been done about it.
“We have repeatedly communicated the seriousness of the leak,” Free told the newspaper, “including when I was in Russia earlier this year.
The assistant administrator added that NASA has asked Roscosmos to “minimize the time that this hatch is open” and that the Russian space agency has complied.
“We have reached a compromise that they will close it in the evening,” Free continued.
Obviously, this unconvincing assurance does not do the agency much good. In July, NASA quietly signed a $266,000 contract with SpaceX to develop an evacuation plan for those American astronauts traveling to the ISS on Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
This contingency planning was launched “because of the ongoing work to identify cracks.”
50 problem areas
It is unclear what exactly caused the leaks on the Russian side of the ISS, but they are apparently fixing them as they go.
“The Russians have applied sealant to many of these problem areas, which has reduced the leakage rate slightly,” said NASA spokeswoman Catherine Hambleton.
Roscosmos has identified 50 problem areas, a huge number, and “continues to assess areas of concern and apply sealants and patches as required,” Hambleton added. She also noted that not all of the problem areas have been confirmed as cracks and could simply be scratches that occur on surfaces.
As the ISS will spend ten years longer in space than anticipated, repairing atmospheric leaks is critical to achieving this goal.
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