Five astronauts on International Space Station (ISS) had to take cover in SpaceX Dragon on Friday. Air leak in Russian segment was getting worse. Crew — four NASA, one European Space Agency — suited up, ready to evacuate if needed,while Russian cosmonauts scrambled to fix it.
Trouble started with leak in transfer tunnel,PrK,leading to Zvezda module. Air loss spiked,so NASA ordered a "safe-haven" move for crew,who reached ISS in February. They huddled in Dragon, "Freedom," lifeboat that can detach if things got hairy.
Russian cosmonauts Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev were on leak duty when it got serious. NASA worried about their repair method — using a saw to reach crack. Houston mission control told astronauts to shelter in Dragon just in case.
“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,” said NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens.
Roscosmos paused repairs,astronauts went back to ISS. Tass news agency said crew and systems stayed safe. ISS,largest human-made structure in space,has been running since 1998,led by U.S. and Russia,with Canada, Japan,Europe chipping in.
Not first air leak for ISS. Cracks have bugged station for about six years. After Russian cargo ship arrived last month, Roscosmos noted slow pressure drop in tunnel,prompting more repairs.
While astronauts waited in Dragon,they were ready to zip back to Earth if it got worse. Shows difficulty of keeping aging station,spanning football field,operating with international crew.
Now situation's stable,astronauts back to normal ISS duties. Complexity of space missions means vigilance never stops…
