Russia’s space agency has identified four cracks and about 50 other “areas of concern” in a Russian section of the International Space Station, leading NASA to classify the problem at its highest level of risk and study how to evacuate its astronauts in the case of an emergency.
By Aaron Gregg
and Located in a small module that leads to a port where Russian cargo spacecraft dock, the cracks have “all been covered with a combination of sealant and patches” by Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, NASA said in a statement.
The leaks have been a concern for some time, said James Free, NASA’s associate administrator. “We have conveyed the seriousness of the leaks multiple times, including when I was in Russia earlier this year,” he said in an interview with The Washington Post.
NASA’s Office of Inspector General last month called the cracks a “top safety risk” and noted that in April, “NASA identified an increase in the leak rate to its highest level to date.”
The leaks’ exact cause is not known, nor is it clear exactly where the air is leaving the space station. Both space agencies have narrowed their focus to internal and external welds that may have deteriorated, according to the inspector general.
The U.S. space agency has been working closely with Roscosmos to identify the source of the leaks and ensure crew safety, Free said. Since the last round of patches over the summer, “the leakage rate has gone down,” he said.
“We’ve asked them to minimize how long that hatch is open, and they are minimizing it,” Free said. “We’ve come to a compromise that they close it in the evening.”
NASA has determined the station remains safe enough for the 11 people aboard. Still, the agency decided its astronauts need more options in the event that a rapid departure from the space station becomes necessary.
In July, NASA awarded a $266,000 contract order for Elon Musk’s SpaceX to come up with a contingency plan to evacuate American astronauts who have been assigned to fly on Russian spacecraft. The measure, NASA said, was prompted “due to the ongoing leak detection work.”
Specifically, the space agency was concerned about how astronaut Tracy Dyson, who had flown to the station on a Russian Soyuz vehicle, would be able to come home in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which would be easier to reach while she was on the U.S. side of the station.
“You always want them to have a path to their emergency return vehicle,” Free said. Dyson has since returned in the Soyuz at the end of her mission.
While Russia is studying the 50 areas of concern, they have not been “confirmed to be cracks,” Kathryn Hambleton, a NASA spokeswoman, said in an email. Many could be “benign imperfections that could be typically seen on a surface, like a small scratch,” she wrote. “Roscosmos has applied sealant to many of these areas of interest which has further reduced the leak rate. Roscosmos continues to evaluate the areas of concern and apply sealant and patches as warranted.”
Persistent leaks are just one of many safety challenges facing the 25-year-old orbital lab seven years before its planned return to Earth. Space officials consider tiny meteors and other orbital debris to be another top-level safety risk, for example, leading to the installation of shields on the U.S. segment of the station.
The station is jointly run by NASA, Roscosmos, and an international coalition that includes the European, Japanese and Canadian space agencies.
It has been in orbit 10 years longer than initially planned. In late September, the NASA inspector general identified 588 replacement parts that were operating beyond their planned operational lifetimes.
NASA’s current plans call for the space station to be decommissioned in 2031. Ultimately, U.S. officials hope it will be replaced by one or more commercial ventures from companies such as Axiom Space, Sierra Nevada, Blue Origin, Voyager Space and Vast. (Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin’s founder, owns The Washington Post.) But it’s unclear whether those companies could have a station ready by the time this one reaches the end of its life.
NASA could be forced to extend the station again if a replacement isn’t ready in time, according to the inspector general’s office. The air leaks are a reminder that the station is getting old, and the technical problems could worsen in the coming years.
Station personnel spend a significant amount of time on repairs. But the inspector general expressed concerns that important replacement parts could become harder to find as their niche suppliers cease production. For example, when the space station’s urine processing system lacked a replacement pump this summer, the crew resorted to “off-nominal storage of urine” until a replacement pump could be flown up the next month, according to a recent agency report.
“Any extension of the ISS past 2030 will require continued significant funding to operate and maintain the Station, acceptance of increased levels of risk stemming from its replaceable components and aging structures, and assurances of continued support from NASA’s international partners with the ISS — Russia in particular,” the inspector general wrote.
