Russian space agency wanted to 'drill and saw' the ISS leak wall, NASA officials say
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Russian space agency wanted to 'drill and saw' the ISS leak wall, NASA officials say")
The cracks are in an area of the International Space Station attached to the Russian Zvezda service module, known as the Photograph: (AFP)
What happened at the International Space Station on June 4? What was the problem with the leak and the fix? NASA sources told two outlets that the Russian space agency had come up with horrific plans that could have created a major problem on the ISS.
A major scare unfolded at the International Space Station (ISS) on June 4 and 5 when Roscosmos came up with shocking plans to fix a persistent leak. NASA ordered its five astronauts to take shelter in a docked Dragon spacecraft in case things turned for the worse at the space module. Reports from Ars Technica and The Register suggest that the plans involved a drill and a saw, leaving NASA shocked. Bethany Stevens, press secretary of the space agency, informed in an X post on June 5 that the Russian cosmonauts were carrying out "a more extensive repair operation on Friday, June 5." She added, "Out of an abundance of caution, NASA has directed all four of the agency's SpaceX Crew-12 members and NASA astronaut Chris Williams to assume an elevated safety posture in the Dragon spacecraft while the repair is underway."
So far, there has been no official word on exactly what transpired at the ISS. The leak has been a problem since at least 2019. It is located in a short tunnel section known as PrK, which connects the Russian Zvezda module to the station’s aft docking port. Officials told the two outlets that Roscosmos was ready to take drastic steps to fix the leak on June 4 and the next day.
Russian space agency's drill stop plan scared NASA
Roscosmos used a sealant called Germetall-1 earlier this year to fix the cracks and managed to tame the problem. However, the air started leaking again in May, and the issue aggravated in June. The space agency told NASA about its extensive plans for structural repairs. On June 4, it informed its American counterparts that they would use a drill and a “drill stop” device for physical repairs. The stop was to prevent drilling all the way through the module’s structure. NASA was concerned about the measure and threatened to put the astronauts in suits. "They didn’t care," an official told Ars Technica. Also Read: ISS leak updates: Roscosmos says first leak has been fixed, NASA says repair efforts have been paused
Russian cosmonauts wanted to saw off a bracket, triggering panic
The agencies continued to butt heads into Friday morning when Russian cosmonauts came up with an even more aggressive solution - using a saw to remove a load-bearing bracket. The source said that Roscosmos kept ignoring ground communication with NASA officials. At this point, NASA directed US astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, all part of Crew 12, and US astronaut Chris Williams, who had flown in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, to get into SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft.
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“We felt there was a very high probability of a bad outcome happening if they sawed that bracket off,” a NASA source said. This prompted Russia to back off and drop the saw plan as well. Roscosmos has now agreed to decommission the PrK module and will no longer try to pressurise it.
What is the International Space Station leak?
The leak at the space station has been a headache for both space agencies. The ISS has been in commission for over two decades, and the wear and tear has started showing, with corrosion being the primary reason for the crack in the PrK module. This portion leads from the main area of the Russian segment to a docking port. The tunnel needs to be pressurised for the cosmonauts to be able to access the Progress spacecraft. It starts leaking when pressure is cycled up or down. This has made the PrK vulnerable to breaking apart without warning and failing completely.
