Leak Stops on the International Space Station. But NASA Engineers Still Worry

On the International Space Station, air has been slowly leaking out for years from a Russia-controlled module, reports CNN.
But recently 'station operators realized the gradual, steady leak had stopped. And that raised an even larger concern.'

It's possible that efforts to seal cracks in the module's exterior wall have worked, and the patches are finally trapping air as intended. But, according to NASA, engineers are also concerned that the module is actually holding a stable pressure because a new leak may have formed on an interior wall — causing air from the rest of the orbiting laboratory to begin rushing into the damaged area. Essentially, space station operators are worried that the entire station is beginning to lose air.

Much about this issue is unknown. NASA revealed the concerns in a June 14 statement. The agency said it would delay the launch of the private Ax-4 mission, carried out by SpaceX and Houston-based company Axiom Space, as station operators worked to pinpoint the problem. 'By changing pressure in the transfer tunnel and monitoring over time, teams are evaluating the condition of the transfer tunnel and the hatch seal,' the statement read.

More than a week later, the results of that research are not totally clear. After revealing the new Wednesday launch target Monday night, NASA said in a Tuesday statement that it worked with Roscosmos officials to investigate the issue. The space agencies agreed to lower the pressure in the transfer tunnel, and 'teams will continue to evaluate going forward,' according to the statement... The cracks are minuscule and mostly invisible to the naked eye, hence the difficulty attempting to patch problem areas.


Axiom Space launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on Wednesday.

But its four-person crew had previously 'remained locked in quarantine in Florida for about a month, waiting for their chance to launch,' notes CNN, as NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos 'attempted to sort through' the leak issue.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.