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For many years, both NASA and its Russian counterpart Roscosmos have struggled to contain persistent leaks plaguing the International Space Station. The aging orbital output has been through two decades of continuous habitation, and it’s really starting to show its age.
In particular, a short tunnel section dubbed PrK, which connects the Russian Zvezda module to the station’s aft docking port, has been leaking air on and off since at least 2019, alarming officials.
The situation once again came to a head on June 5, when NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens noted in an update that five astronauts would be taking shelter in a docked Dragon spacecraft “out of an abundance of caution” due to Russia’s “mitigation measures” to repair “cracks.”
Both NASA and Roscosmos have been quiet about what exactly occurred that day. But according to officials, who have since spoken to Ars Technica and The Register on condition of anonymity, Roscosmos was looking to take drastic measures to fix the leak — which had NASA rattled.
Tensions flared as both agencies butted heads over what to do, highlighting an international relationship that hasn’t always fostered peaceful cooperation in space.
According to The Register, one initial plan involved a handsaw, while another involved a “drill” and a “drill stop,” a device designed to punch a hole all the way through the wall of the module, per Ars.
“We threatened we would put astronauts in suits, in Dragon, to send a message to the world that we disagreed,” one NASA official told Ars. “They didn’t care.”
The situation escalated even further, with cosmonauts approaching the “PrK module with a saw and the intent to remove a load-bearing bracket,” according to Ars‘ sourcing.
After communications broke down between the two agencies, NASA decided to play it safe, directing all four crew members of the Crew-12 mission, as well as NASA astronaut Chris Williams, who had arrived at the station on board a Soyuz capsule in November, to shelter inside the Dragon spacecraft.
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