Russian module on ISS continues to leak gas

The gas leak in the Russian module continues the list of recent leaks on the ISS.

The latest leak did not affect astronauts or equipment on the ISS. Photo: NASA — The latest leak did not affect astronauts or equipment on the ISS. Photo: *NASA*

The International Space Station (ISS) has a leak at the end of the Russian module as the Progress spacecraft docks with the station, NASA ISS program manager Joel Mantalbano announced on February 28 at the Kennedy Space Center. The area is about 3 feet (0.9 meters) long, according to Mantalbano. NASA is working with its Russian counterparts on a solution.

The leak does not affect SpaceX’s Crew-8 mission, which is scheduled to launch at 12:04 a.m. on March 1, Hanoi time. Montalbano said the volume of the leak began to increase about a week before the Progress cargo ship launched to the space station on February 14. This is not the first time that leaks in the Russian service module have required repairs.

Leaks from Russian hardware have been occurring on the ISS for months. A serious incident occurred in December 2022 when the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft began rapidly leaking coolant into space shortly before a Russian cosmonaut was scheduled to perform a spacewalk. With no other options, the Russian space agency Roscosmos had to launch an empty replacement Soyuz, MS-23, and fly the leaking spacecraft back to Earth for analysis.

Due to the leak, the three astronauts spent 12 months on the ISS instead of the originally planned 6 months while waiting for a replacement spacecraft to arrive. Ultimately, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio spent 371 days on the ISS, setting a record for the longest continuous flight in US history.

Then, in February 2023, another Russian cargo ship, Progress 82, leaked ammonia while docking with the ISS. About seven months later, a leak occurred in NASA’s Nauka Multipurpose Experiment Module. Experts say the war in Ukraine has greatly affected space cooperation between Russia and many international partners. Russia also announced plans to develop its own low-Earth orbit space station and withdraw from the ISS after 2028.

An Khang (According to Space )

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