An air leak in the International Space Station has forced its three-member crew to move to the Russian side of the orbiting laboratory while NASA conducts tests to determine the source.
The crew and the station are in “no immediate danger” because the leak remains within safety specifications, the agency said. All ISS hatches will be closed during the pressure test to determine which is experiencing higher-than-normal losses, NASA said.
The station regularly sucks air into the space, and requires periodic re-pressure of nitrogen delivered in re-trips. Last September, NASA and Russian space officials noticed an increase in the standard leakage level, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Thursday in a statement.
“That rate has been raised slightly, so the teams are working on a plan to isolate, identify and potentially repair the source,” NASA said, following a report published Thursday by RIA Novosti.
NASA astronaut and station commander Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin will remain in the Russian service module Zvedza from Friday evening until Sunday morning.
In August 2018, station managers discovered a small hole in the Russian side of the ISS, which caused a small pressure drop before it was repaired. The space station has had a continuous crew since November 2000.
– With the help of Jake Rudnitsky
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