Leak On Board International Space Station: NASA Warns Of Catastrophic Failure

Reports say that National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA), the US space agency, has warned of “catastrophic failure” if the persistent leak of air and pressure from a section of the Russian-controlled International Space Station is not controlled.

The leak is not new, in fact it’s been going on for five years but it has worsened, raising questions about crew safety and the orbiting laboratory’s long-term sustainability. The leak is in a tunnel that connects the Russian module Zvezda to the docking port that receives spacecraft carrying supplies and cargo. The module was launched in 2000.

NASA said “The cracks are very small, not visible to the naked eye and have brackets and pipelines near them, making it difficult to get diagnostic tools into those areas.”

The air leaking from the cracks was estimated in April this year at 1.7 kg per day, which is seen as an all time high.

NASA and Roscosmos, its Russian counterpart, disagree on the risk it poses, the causes for the leak and how it can be remedied. Russia points to high cyclic fatigue due to micro-vibrations, while NASA says it’s about mechanical stress, residual stress, exposure to the environment and so on.

The Russians have also dismissed as “unrealistic”, NASA’s warnings of “catastrophic failure” and say operations can continue. But the Americans reject this argument. The US has mooted the idea of calling in a team of neutral experts but the Russians are not agreeable.

While discussions are on to find a way forward, some steps are being taken to mitigate any risk due to the leak of air. NASA was quoted as saying that “Roscosmos is confident they will be able to monitor and close the hatch to the Service Module prior to the leak rate reaching an untenable level.”

Precautionary measures being taken include keeping the leaking section closed at all times except when off-loading goods from spacecraft.