NASA Orders ISS Evacuation Into Crew Dragon Over Russian Leak
Another day, another high-stakes cosmic drama because someone forgot to bring quality duct tape to space. While the Russian space program continues to leak literally and metaphorically, astronauts had to scramble for their lifeboats.
On Friday, astronauts aboard the ISS were ordered by NASA to quickly seek shelter inside the docked Crew Dragon spacecraft. The crew, including four members of the Crew-12 mission and astronaut Chris Williams, had to suit up and prepare for a potential emergency evacuation back to Earth.
This sudden panic was triggered when Roscosmos operators noticed a rapid pressure drop in the transition chamber of the aging Zvezda module. Upon inspection, cosmonauts discovered two fresh air leaks in the hardware. To fix this, they threw on a layer of a two-component sealant called "Hermetal-1" and prepared to patch the second hole.
This is not a new plot twist, as engineers have been tracking slow microcrack leaks in this exact Russian segment for over five years. At one point in 2024, the leak rate doubled to a whopping one kilogram of air per day, turning the module into an expensive cosmic colander.
To let the crew gather more precise data, Roscosmos temporarily paused their structural repairs inside the chamber. This allowed NASA to finally stand down the evacuation alarm and let the astronauts exit their lifeboat.
It is reassuring to know that humanity has agreed to keep this creaking, duct-taped orbital station running until 2030. Surely, nothing says cutting-edge scientific progress like holding your breath while waiting for the next layer of space glue to dry.
Source: TechCrunch
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