An International Space Station Leak Is Getting Worse, NASA Confirms (arstechnica.com) 29
Ars Technica reports NASA officials operating the International Space Station "are seriously concerned about a small Russian part of the station" — because it's leaking.
The "PrK" tunnel connecting a larger module to a docking port "has been leaking since September 2019... In February of this year NASA identified an increase in the leak rate from less than 1 pound of atmosphere a day to 2.4 pounds a day, and in April this rate increased to 3.7 pounds a day." A new report, published Thursday by NASA's inspector general, provides details not previously released by the space agency that underline the severity of the problem...
Despite years of investigation, neither Russian nor US officials have identified the underlying cause of the leak. "Although the root cause of the leak remains unknown, both agencies have narrowed their focus to internal and external welds," the report, signed by Deputy Inspector General George A. Scott, states. The plan to mitigate the risk is to keep the hatch on the Zvezda module leading to the PrK tunnel closed. Eventually, if the leak worsens further, this hatch might need to be closed permanently, reducing the number of Russian docking ports on the space station from four to three.
Publicly, NASA has sought to minimize concerns about the cracking issue because it remains, to date, confined to the PrK tunnel and has not spread to other parts of the station. Nevertheless, Ars reported in June that the cracking issue has reached the highest level of concern on the space agency's 5x5 "risk matrix" to classify the likelihood and consequence of risks to spaceflight activities. The Russian leaks are now classified as a "5" both in terms of high likelihood and high consequence.
"According to NASA, Roscosmos is confident they will be able to monitor and close the hatch to the Service Module prior to the leak rate reaching an untenable level. However, NASA and Roscosmos have not reached an agreement on the point at which the leak rate is untenable."
The article adds that the Space Station should reach its end of life by either 2028 or 2030, and NASA "intends to transition its activities in low-Earth orbit onto private space stations," and has funded Axiom Space, Blue Origin, and Voyager Space for initial development.
"There is general uncertainty as to whether any of the private space station operators will be ready in 2030."
The "PrK" tunnel connecting a larger module to a docking port "has been leaking since September 2019... In February of this year NASA identified an increase in the leak rate from less than 1 pound of atmosphere a day to 2.4 pounds a day, and in April this rate increased to 3.7 pounds a day." A new report, published Thursday by NASA's inspector general, provides details not previously released by the space agency that underline the severity of the problem...
Despite years of investigation, neither Russian nor US officials have identified the underlying cause of the leak. "Although the root cause of the leak remains unknown, both agencies have narrowed their focus to internal and external welds," the report, signed by Deputy Inspector General George A. Scott, states. The plan to mitigate the risk is to keep the hatch on the Zvezda module leading to the PrK tunnel closed. Eventually, if the leak worsens further, this hatch might need to be closed permanently, reducing the number of Russian docking ports on the space station from four to three.
Publicly, NASA has sought to minimize concerns about the cracking issue because it remains, to date, confined to the PrK tunnel and has not spread to other parts of the station. Nevertheless, Ars reported in June that the cracking issue has reached the highest level of concern on the space agency's 5x5 "risk matrix" to classify the likelihood and consequence of risks to spaceflight activities. The Russian leaks are now classified as a "5" both in terms of high likelihood and high consequence.
"According to NASA, Roscosmos is confident they will be able to monitor and close the hatch to the Service Module prior to the leak rate reaching an untenable level. However, NASA and Roscosmos have not reached an agreement on the point at which the leak rate is untenable."
The article adds that the Space Station should reach its end of life by either 2028 or 2030, and NASA "intends to transition its activities in low-Earth orbit onto private space stations," and has funded Axiom Space, Blue Origin, and Voyager Space for initial development.
"There is general uncertainty as to whether any of the private space station operators will be ready in 2030."
Don't worry (Score:1)
Space is infinitely full of resources, they just need to open the space window and take them!
Tyre slime (Score:2)
Bada bing (Score:3)
Finding it. (Score:2)
Re:Finding it. (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
This is marked funny, but there might be something there. Obviously not soapy water, but you could imagine using re-positionable adhesive to put a plastic patch, maybe a meter or two square on different parts of the exterior and looking for the patch to balloon up. That's just one possible method
Re: (Score:2)
They should send them a tub of Flex Seal. If we learned anything from those commercials, that stuff can stop pretty much any leak.
Plus, you KNOW that they're dying to use the NASA footage of it being applied in their next set of ads.
Re: (Score:2)
Understand you are being fictitious, but flex seal will not stop a leak under pressure
Re: (Score:2)
Well someone didn't watch the commercial.
Re:Finding it. (Score:5, Informative)
Why not put a marker substance in the tunnel and close it and watch the outside where the marker substance leaks out.
The leak needs to be fixed on the inside.
If you put sealant or tape over the outside, the pressure will push it away.
If you put it inside, the pressure will push the sealant or tape tight against the leak.
Finding the outside leak doesn't tell you where the inside leak is because the walls are filled with 10 cm of urethane foam between the inner and outer shells.
The leak in the inner shell could be several meters from the leak in the outer shell.
Re: (Score:2)
Why not put a marker substance in the tunnel and close it and watch the outside where the marker substance leaks out.
That seems quite logical. You would think that you could manage it just with very humid air. Out in space you would expect it to form ice crystals and be quite bright. So you would try illuminating with a bright light to see where it is. Other possibilities are neon, and illuminating with x-rays and/or high-range UV light, then you should be able to spot it with infrared. With such a big leak, it really does seem like there should be a way to spot that plume in space.
Overall, it sounds like their approach t
Moon base (Score:2)
We've stayed the shit out of low earth orbit already. It's time we setup a base on the moon. Earth orbit is shitty. Build a permanent lunar base. I wouldn't mind going there for vacation.
Re: Moon base (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Moon base (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
A leak would be less of an issue on the Moon.
Lunar regolith is 40% oxygen.
You'd still need to fix it to prevent the loss of nitrogen and water, but a pinhole leak wouldn't be life-threatening.
Re: (Score:3)
It's the Russian module having the leak, dumbass.
I know a fix! (Score:1)
Send Trump up there - all the hot air he expels will equalize the loss of pressure.
Re: I know a fix! (Score:2)
It's for time for ISS to go (Score:1)
ISS was launched in the late 90s and was originally designed to last 12 years. Both, Russia and USA are holding onto it only because neither one has another active piloted space project. It's a space station that exists only to justify NASAs massive bureaucracy. There is no real science done there, it's a massive waste of money.
IIS should be deorbited as a partial Kremlin asset (Score:3)
Science is not apolitical and the desperately naive idea of sharing aerospace tech with the greatest enemy of civilization needs to end.
ISS is a machine which can be replaced. Hardware is not sacred. Humans have eternity to explore space. Nothing of value would be lost by deorbiting ISS.
Put a house spider in there (Score:2)
They love to find leaks. Plus you get some interesting spider science.