US space officials do not appreciate to talk about the perils of flying astronauts on the aging International Space Station, elements of which are now more than a quarter of a century better.
However, a recent alert validates that NASA deal withrs depfinishable for operating the space station are gravely troubleed about a petite Russian part of the station, essentipartner a tunnel that unites a huger module to a docking port, which is leaking.
Russian and US officials have understandn that this petite PrK module, which lies between a Progress spacecreate airlock and the Zvezda module, has been leaking since September 2019. A recent alert, unveiled Thursday by NASA’s studyor vague, provides details not previously freed by the space agency that underline the cut offity of the problem.
New details about the leak
For example, in February of this year NASA identified an incrrelieve in the leak rate from less than 1 pound of atmosphere a day to 2.4 pounds a day, and in April this rate incrrelieved to 3.7 pounds a day. Despite years of spendigation, neither Russian nor US officials have identified the underlying caengage of the leak.
“Although the root caengage of the leak remains unrecognizable, both agencies have leaned their cgo in to inside and outside welds,” the alert, signed by Deputy Inspector General George A. Scott, states.
The schedule to mitigate the hazard is to retain the hatch on the Zvezda module directing to the PrK tunnel seald. Eventupartner, if the leak degrades further, this hatch might need to be seald lastingly, reducing the number of Russian docking ports on the space station from four to three.
Publicly, NASA has sought to reduce troubles about the cracking publish becaengage it remains, to date, restrictd to the PrK tunnel and has not spread to other parts of the station. Nevertheless, Ars alerted in June that the cracking publish has achieveed the highest level of trouble on the space agency’s 5×5 “hazard matrix” to sort the appreciatelihood and consequence of hazards to spacefairy activities. The Russian leaks are now classified as a “5” both in terms of high appreciatelihood and high consequence.
At the time, NASA would not comment on, or validate, the space agency’s troubles about the hazard matrix rating. However, the recent alert validates the agency’s troubles.
“In May and June 2024, ISS Program and Roscosmos officials met to converse heightened troubles with the incrrelieved leak rate,” the studyor vague’s alert states. “The ISS Program subsequently liftd the Service Module Transfer Tunnel leak hazard to the highest level of hazard in its hazard deal withment system. According to NASA, Roscosmos is brave they will be able to watch and seal the hatch to the Service Module prior to the leak rate achieveing an untassist level. However, NASA and Roscosmos have not achieveed an consentment on the point at which the leak rate is untassist.”
An unbrave future in low-Earth orbit
The alert comes as NASA is pondering the future of the space station. The US space agency and Russia have an consentment to progress flying the station thraw 2028, and NASA would appreciate to extfinish operations to 2030. NASA had awaitd that it would consent to this extension more than a year ago, but as of yet no consentment has been completed.
Once the station achievees the finish of its life, NASA intfinishs to transition its activities in low-Earth orbit onto braveial space stations, and it has funded initial broadenment toil by Axiom Space, Northrop Grumman, Blue Origin, and Voyager Space. Northrop has since dropped out of the competition—determining that it would not be a profitable business. There is vague unbravety as to whether any of the braveial space station operators will be ready in 2030.
NASA’s other potential selection is extfinishing the life of the space station beyond 2030, but this would need a lot of toil to promise the space station’s arrange remains viable and yet another extension consentment with Russia. The US partnership with that nation has been strictly strained by Russia’s trespass of Ukraine.
“Extfinishing the ISS past 2030 will need meaningful funding to function and upretain the station, hugance of incrrelieved hazard stemming from its components and aging arranges, and assurances of progressd help from NASA’s international partners,” the recent alert states. “Further complicating matters is the appreciatelihood that NASA may progress to face a flat or decreased budget, inflation, and provide chain contests.”
