There have been ongoing leaks in a Russian module on the International Space Station (ISS) for some time. On Friday, out of an “abundance of caution,” NASA directed all four of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-12 members to move to the Dragon spacecraft to shelter as part of the “Safe Haven” contingency plan. The order was later rescinded.
This follows the news that Russian cosmonauts had originally planned to conduct a “more extensive repair” today to the affected module. However, those plans changed, and the cosmonauts will no longer proceed with the extensive repair today.
NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens posted this statement on X regarding the situation prior to the cancellation:
“The Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, has suffered from cracks and leaks for some time, and has been mitigated by Roscosmos as much as possible to date. The cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely. NASA and Roscosmos have been working to determine the root cause of the cracks, and Roscosmos manages the issue through operational mitigation measures and periodic partial-repair efforts. Following new leaks, Roscosmos has elected to proceed with a more extensive repair operation on Friday, June 5. 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. We continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution.”
Stevens later posted this to X.
“Roscosmos has paused Friday’s structural repair efforts inside the Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, as more measurements and data is assessed. Given this development, NASA has instructed the crew members inside the Dragon spacecraft to end the safe haven procedures and return to planned operations aboard the International Space Station. We look forward to working with Roscosmos on a collaborative approach to address the leaks.”