NASA has instructed astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to resume normal operations after a precautionary shelter order linked to repairs on a persistent air leak in the station’s Russian segment was lifted.
The space agency announced on Friday that repair work inside the Russian-built Zvezda service module had been paused while engineers review additional measurements and technical data related to the leak.
As a result, crew members who had been directed to shelter inside the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft were cleared to return to their regular duties aboard the orbiting laboratory.
“Roscosmos has paused Friday’s structural repair efforts inside the Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, as more measurements and data are assessed,” NASA said in a statement.
Precautionary Safety Measures
Earlier in the day, NASA had ordered five of the station’s seven crew members to move into the Dragon spacecraft and prepare for a possible emergency departure.
The precaution affected Crew-12 astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, Andrey Fedyaev, and NASA astronaut Chris Williams.
The spacecraft serves as an emergency lifeboat that can quickly detach from the station and return its occupants to Earth if conditions onboard become unsafe.
Meanwhile, Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev remained in the Russian segment of the station to support repair operations and monitor the situation.
Long-Running Leak Problem
The air leak originates from the transfer tunnel of the ISS’s Zvezda service module, a section that has experienced recurring cracks and pressure issues for approximately six years.
According to NASA and Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, the issue has been managed through periodic repairs and operational adjustments. However, new signs of pressure loss were detected following the arrival of a Russian cargo spacecraft last month, prompting a more extensive repair effort.
Russian media reports indicated that engineers identified two leaks during the latest inspection. One of the leaks was reportedly sealed successfully, while work on the second was suspended pending further analysis.
Roscosmos stated that neither the crew nor onboard systems were in immediate danger.
International Cooperation Continues
NASA said it will continue working closely with Roscosmos and other international partners involved in the ISS programme to identify a permanent solution.
The International Space Station remains one of the most ambitious international scientific projects ever undertaken. Orbiting Earth at speeds exceeding 27,000 kilometres per hour, the station serves as a research laboratory where astronauts conduct scientific experiments and study the effects of long-duration spaceflight.
Despite the latest incident, officials stressed that the station remains operational and that the shelter order was issued purely as a precautionary measure.
The development highlights the ongoing challenges of maintaining aging infrastructure aboard the ISS, which has been continuously inhabited by international crews for more than two decades.
