NASA orders ISS crew shelter as repairs target Russian module air leaks
The directive, confirmed by NASA on Friday, requires an elevated safety posture for the Crew-12 members and one NASA astronaut as Russian cosmonauts address the issue.
NASA has directed five of the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station to shelter inside the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon "Freedom" spacecraft. The precautionary measure was taken following the discovery of new air leaks in the Russian service module, prompting an urgent repair operation led by two Russian cosmonauts.
The five crew members ordered to shelter comprise the four astronauts of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission—Jack Hathaway, Andrey Fedyaev, Jessica Meir, and Sophie Adenot—alongside NASA astronaut Chris Williams. They are required to assume an elevated safety posture within the Dragon capsule while repairs are underway.
Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, who serves as the station commander, and Sergei Mikaev are conducting the urgent repairs. Kud-Sverchkov, a rocket engineer and Hero of the Russian Federation, is joined by Mikaev, who is on his first spaceflight. The specific technical details regarding the severity of the leaks were not fully detailed in immediate reports.
NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens confirmed the shelter-in-place directive via an X post on Friday, noting that the order was issued out of caution. The exact duration of the directive remains unclear, as neither NASA nor SpaceX immediately provided a timeline for when the crew would return to normal operations.
The International Space Station currently hosts ten people in total. The crew represents five countries, with the Crew-12 mission members hailing from the United States, France, and Russia. The incident follows previous reports of leaks in the Russian service module, highlighting the ongoing operational challenges faced by the orbital laboratory.
