NASA and Roscosmos butt heads over growing leakage in space station. 'Have not reached...'

NASA engineers have revealed that a portion of the International Space Station is leaking. According to the space agency's inspector general, there are leaks in a tunnel connecting the station's Russian segment to a docking port. The problem is that no one knows what's causing the leaks.

"On-going cracks and air leaks in the Service Module Transfer Tunnel are a top safety risk," the report reads.

In June, the crack was moved to NASA's highest level of concern in its "risk matrix," Ars Technica reported.

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NASA and Russian space agency, Roscosmos, are working together to figure out the issue.

"And NASA and Roscosmos are collaborating to investigate and mitigate the cracks and leaks, determine the root cause, and monitor the Station for new leaks."

"Although the root cause of the leak remains unknown, both agencies have narrowed their focus to internal and external welds," the report reads.

As per an Ars Technica report, NASA "identified an increase in the leak to its highest level to date" in April. The lead increased to a whopping 3.7 pounds of atmosphere a day, as compared to under onepound in February.

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Right now, NASA plans on retiring the space station in 2030. However, it is important to keep things perfect until that happens. But that doesn't seem to be the case as the report cites problems faced to fix the issue, whenever it is identified.

The report cites "supply chain issues" plaguing NASA's contractors that could create hurdles in sustaining operations at the space station until it finally goes out of service.

If the engineers are unable to identify the problem and fix it, NASA and Roscosmos might have to permanently close the hatch to the affected tunnel. This would cut off access to one of the station's four docking ports.

However, this might be a point of clash between NASA and Roscosmos as they do not have "agreement on the point at which the leak rate is untenable."

Notably, SpaceX will help NASA deorbit the station and crash it into the Pacific Ocean in 2030.