NASA orders International ‌Space Station astronauts to shelter, prepare for evacuation due to air leak

NASA tells International ‌Space Station astronauts to resume planned operations after shelter order

Russian crews paused structural ​repair efforts after air leaks detected Friday

NASA instructed crew members aboard the International Space Station ‌(ISS) to return to planned operations after Russia's space ​agency Roscosmos paused Friday's structural ​repair efforts inside the Zvezda service ​module.

"Given this development, NASA has instructed ⁠the crew members inside the Dragon spacecraft to end ‌the safe haven procedures and return to planned operations aboard the International ​Space Station," ⁠the U.S. agency's spokesperson Bethany Stevens said in ⁠a post on X.

Roscosmos said ‌its experts had detected two leaks aboard the ISS, but that ​there was no immediate threat to the crew.

"When the transition ​chamber compartment of the ⁠Zvezda module was ⁠pressurized ... ‌specialists from the main operational control group for the Russian segment of the ISS detected ⁠a leak from the spacecraft," it said in a statement.

Preparations underway for 2nd leak

The first leak ‌was fixed with a hermetic compound. Preparations are underway to seal the second ​leak, located on the conical ⁠part of the transition chamber compartment, ⁠Roscosmos said.

"The situation does not ⁠threaten ⁠the safety ​of the crew and onboard systems — the ​pressure ⁠on board the ISS is stable and maintained at the calculated level."

Earlier Friday, NASA ordered astronauts aboard the International ‌Space Station to shelter ​in their spacecraft ⁠and ⁠prepare ‌for potential evacuation as repairs were underway.

The four ⁠astronauts of NASA's Crew-12 mission at the station — ‌two U.S. astronauts, a French astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut — got orders from ​mission control at ⁠9:04 a.m. ET ⁠to enter their Crew Dragon spacecraft ⁠docked ⁠to ​the station and don their spacesuits ​in ⁠case the leak warrants an emergency evacuation, a NASA official said.

NASA and Roscosmos, the station's two primary operators, have debated for months ​over the cause of and potential fixes for small air ⁠leaks aboard the Russian Zvezda service module, a key ⁠structure of the football field-sized laboratory.

"We continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution," Stevens said in an earlier post on X.