U.S. space officials don’t like to talk about the dangers for astronauts flying on the aging International Space Station, which is more than a quarter-century old.
But a new report says NASA managers in charge of space station operations are seriously concerned about a leak in a small part of the Russian side of the station, essentially the tunnel that connects the large module to the docking port. It was confirmed that
Russian and U.S. officials have known that the small PrK module, located between the Progress spacecraft’s airlock and the Zvezda module, has been leaking since September 2019. A new report released Thursday by NASA’s inspector general includes details not previously released by the space agency. Authorities emphasized the seriousness of the problem.
New details about the leak
For example, in February of this year, NASA found that atmospheric leakage increased from less than 1 pound per day to 2.4 pounds per day, and in April, this rate increased to 3.7 pounds per day. Despite years of investigation, neither Russian nor U.S. authorities have been able to determine the root cause of the leak.
The report, signed by Deputy Inspector General George A. Scott, said: “While the root cause of the leak remains unknown, both authorities are focusing on internal and external welds.”
The plan to reduce the risk is to keep the hatch in the Zvezda module that leads to the PrK tunnel closed. Ultimately, if the leak worsens, the hatch could have to be permanently closed, reducing the number of Russian docking ports on the space station from four to three.
NASA has publicly tried to minimize concerns about the cracking problem, saying it has so far been confined to the PrK tunnel and has not spread to other parts of the station. Nevertheless, Ars reported in June that the cracking issue had reached the highest level of concern in the space agency’s 5×5 “risk matrix,” which categorizes the likelihood and consequences of risks to spaceflight activities. did. The Russian data breach is currently classified as a ‘5’ for both high probability and significant impact.
At the time, NASA did not comment or confirm the space agency’s concerns about the risk matrix evaluation. But a new report confirms the authorities’ concerns.
“In May and June 2024, ISS program and Roscosmos officials met to discuss growing concerns about increasing leak rates,” the inspector general’s report states. “The ISS program has since elevated the risk of a leak in the service module transfer tunnel to the highest level of risk in its risk management system. According to NASA, Roscosmos is confident that it can monitor and close the service module hatch before a leak occurs.” However, NASA and Roscosmos do not agree that the leak rate will reach an unsustainable level. ”
The uncertain future of low Earth orbit
The report comes as NASA considers the future of the space station. The U.S. space agency and Russia have agreed to keep the station flying until 2028, and NASA hopes to extend operations to 2030. NASA expected to agree to this extension more than a year ago, but so far no agreement has been reached. The decision has been finalized.
NASA plans to transfer low-Earth orbit operations to a commercial space station once the station reaches the end of its lifespan, and is funding initial development work by Axiom Space, Northrop Grumman, Blue Origin, and Voyager Space. are. Northrop subsequently decided that it was not a profitable business and withdrew from the competition. There is general uncertainty as to whether any commercial space station operators will be ready in 2030.
Another potential option for NASA 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 is survivable. , a further extension agreement with Russia will also be required. The United States’ partnership with that country has been seriously strained by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Expanding the ISS beyond 2030 will require significant funding to operate and maintain the station, acceptance of increased risks due to its components and aging structure, and continued support from NASA’s international partners. “Guarantees of support will be needed,” the new report says. “Compounding matters is the possibility that NASA will continue to face flat or reduced budgets, inflation, and supply chain challenges.”
This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.
