An international space station leak is getting worse and keeping NASA up at night
American space officials do not like to talk about the dangers of flying astronauts in old age International Space StationTheir elements are now more than a quarter of a century old.
However, a new report confirms that NASA The managers responsible for operating the space station are seriously concerned about a small part of the Russian station, essentially a tunnel connecting the larger module to a harbor, that is leaking.
Russian and American officials already know that this small PrK module is located between the Progress spacecraft’s airlock and the Zvezda module, has been leaking since September 2019. A new reportannounced Thursday by NASA’s inspector general, providing details not previously published by the space agency that underscore the severity of the problem.
New details about the leak
For example, in February of this year, NASA identified an increase in the leak rate from less than 1 pound of atmosphere per day to 2.4 pounds a day, and in April the rate increased to 3.7 pounds a day. Despite years of investigation, neither Russian nor American officials have determined the underlying cause of the leak.
“While the root cause of the leak has not yet been determined, both agencies have narrowed their focus to internal welds,” said the report, signed by Deputy Inspector General George A. Scott. and outside”.
The plan to minimize the risk is to keep the hatch closed Zvezda module leading to the PrK tunnel has closed. Ultimately, if the leak worsens, the hatch may need to be permanently closed, reducing the number of Russian docking ports on the space station from four to three.
Publicly, NASA has sought to downplay concerns about the cracking problem because it has so far been limited to the PrK tunnel and has not spread to other parts of the station. However, Ars reported in June, the issue of jailbreaking reached the highest level of concern in the space agency’s 5×5 “risk matrix” that classifies the likelihood and consequences of risks for spaceflight activities. Russian leaks are currently classified as category “5” for both high likelihood and high consequence.
At that time, NASA would not comment or confirm the space agency’s concerns about the risk matrix ratings. However, the new report confirms the agency’s concerns.
“In May and June 2024, ISS Program and Roscosmos officials met to discuss growing concerns about the increasing rate of leaks,” the inspector general’s report stated. . “The ISS program subsequently raised the risk of a Service Module Transfer Tunnel leak to the highest risk level in its risk management system. According to NASA, Roscosmos is confident that it will be able to monitor and close the Service Module’s hatch before the leak However, NASA and Roscosmos have not yet reached an agreement on the extent of the leak being unmeasurable.”
An uncertain future in low Earth orbit
The report comes as NASA is considering the future of the space station. The US and Russian space agencies have an agreement to continue flying on the station until 2028, and NASA wants to extend operations until 2030. NASA predicted that it would agree to this extension more than a year ago, but so far there has been no agreement. has been completed.
After the station reaches the end of its life, NASA plans to transition its operations in low Earth orbit to private space stations, and it has funded initial development work by Axiom Space, Northrop Grumman, Blue Origin and Voyager Space. Northrop withdrew from the competition because it determined it would not be a profitable business. There is general uncertainty about whether any private space station operators will be ready by 2030.
NASA’s other potential option is to extend the space station’s life beyond 2030, but this would require a lot of work to ensure the space station’s structure remains viable and another extension agreement with Russia. The United States’ partnership with that country has been severely strained by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Expanding the ISS through 2030 will require significant funding to operate and maintain the station, accept increased risks stemming from its aging components and structures, and assurance of continued support from NASA’s international partners.” “Further complicating the issue is the possibility that NASA may continue to face budget challenges, inflation, and a supply chain that remains unchanged or reduced.”
This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.
