After Half a Decade, the Russian Space Station Segment Stopped Leaking (arstechnica.com) 39
A small section of the International Space Station that has experienced persistent leaks for years appears to have stopped venting atmosphere into space. ArsTechnica: The leaks were caused by microscopic structural cracks inside the small PrK module on the Russian segment of the space station, which lies between a Progress spacecraft airlock and the Zvezda module. The problem has been a long-running worry for Russian and US operators of the station, especially after the rate of leakage doubled in 2024. This prompted NASA officials to label the leak as a "high likelihood" and "high consequence" risk. However, recently two sources indicated that the leaks have stopped. And NASA has now confirmed this.
"Following additional inspections and sealing activities, the pressure in the transfer tunnel attached to the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station, known as the PrK, is holding steady in a stable configuration," a space agency spokesman, Josh Finch, told Ars. "NASA and Roscosmos continue to monitor and investigate the previously observed cracks for any future changes that may occur."
For the better part of half a decade, Russian cosmonauts have been searching for the small leaks like a proverbial needle in a haystack. They would periodically close the hatch leading to the PrK module and then, upon re-opening it, look for tiny accumulations of dust to indicate the leak sites. Then the Russian cosmonauts would apply a sealant known as Germetall-1 (which has now been patented) to the cracks. They would close the hatch again, monitor the pressure inside the PrK module, and begin the search anew for additional leaks. This process went on for years.
"Following additional inspections and sealing activities, the pressure in the transfer tunnel attached to the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station, known as the PrK, is holding steady in a stable configuration," a space agency spokesman, Josh Finch, told Ars. "NASA and Roscosmos continue to monitor and investigate the previously observed cracks for any future changes that may occur."
For the better part of half a decade, Russian cosmonauts have been searching for the small leaks like a proverbial needle in a haystack. They would periodically close the hatch leading to the PrK module and then, upon re-opening it, look for tiny accumulations of dust to indicate the leak sites. Then the Russian cosmonauts would apply a sealant known as Germetall-1 (which has now been patented) to the cracks. They would close the hatch again, monitor the pressure inside the PrK module, and begin the search anew for additional leaks. This process went on for years.
Should have slapped FlexTape all over it (Score:5, Funny)
Re: Should have slapped FlexTape all over it (Score:2)
Oh sh** I just fell over laughing
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Is this like a BMW? (Score:2)
I'm reminded of all the BMW cars I've previously owned where it was often said "If there's no oil under it, there's no oil in it"...
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I still can't get over BMW making an alternator bracket that's part of the oil system for cooling the alternator. Of course the seals go bad and your alternator bracket of all things is leaking oil.
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Seriously? Good grief. Still hard to beat Lucas Electric's AC electrical system they sold to Triumph and BSA. When the speed dropped below about 45 mph the headlight got so dim you couldn't see highway.
Did the Space Station put Pepper in the Radiator? (Score:2)
I'm reminded of all the BMW cars I've previously owned where it was often said "If there's no oil under it, there's no oil in it"...
Ahh, yes... German cars. If every decent car company does something with 6 parts, the Germans will find a way to make it require 27 parts. All of which are horribly expensive and require specialized tools to install. Or they'll put the timing system at the back of the engine so that a routine service item becomes an engine-out procedure [youtu.be]. Garbage cars driven by people who don't know any better.
The space station leak reminds me of an old trick for a leaky cooling system in a car: put pepper into the radiator.
Space dust (Score:2)
My first thought was that if it was microscopic structural cracks that enough dust just finally accumulated around and in the cracks to provide an effective seal like a clogged air filter.
But it does say that they did deliberate sealing activities, so I wonder what those were, if they did anything beyond spraying "germetall-1"
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The headline says stopped leaking, the summary says it's been fixed.
The enshittification of Slashdot proceeds apace.
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Can't blame slashdot for that in this case though. Both the headline and the summary can't straight from ars technica.
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Can't blame slashdot for that in this case though.
I can blame them for calling the people who post stories "editors" ;)
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You know, I don't wish Slashdot had an edit function (I've defended the use of Preview many times) but I do wish it had append.
Anyhoo
I should also add that I have actually harassed Ars about their headlines on Faceboot, and even got a thumb reacc from them about it on one occasion.
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So they won't make you an editor. For God's sake, let it go.
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The headline says stopped leaking, the summary says it's been fixed.
I would say that the fact that is stopped leaking is reasonable evidence that the fix worked.
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I would say that the fact that is stopped leaking is reasonable evidence that the fix worked.
The headline implies that it stopped itself. It was stopped, it didn't just stop miraculously without explanation.
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I would say that the fact that is stopped leaking is reasonable evidence that the fix worked.
The headline implies that it stopped itself.
The headline said stopped. If you are adding "by itself" to the headline, that is your addition, not what was written.
It was stopped, it didn't just stop miraculously without explanation.
The explanation is right there in the summary. And if you wanted more, you could even try reading the article, although that could be a bit too much to expect.
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RTFA? You heretic!
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The headline said stopped. If you are adding "by itself" to the headline, that is your addition, not what was written.
No, that's actually the only correct interpretation of those words in English. If someone's actions caused the leaking to stop, then a native English speaker would say, "After Half a Decade, the Russian Space Station Segment Leaks Are Fixed" or "... Leaks Have Been Stopped/Fixed". (Or they would avoid passive voice and explicitly say who stopped it.)
Saying that something stopped is different from saying that something was stopped. That helping verb indicates that there is another actor other than the lea
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I'm a native speaker of English. If you say something stopped, that sentence gives no information about how or why.
In English, you don't make huge complicated sentences such that the entire article with all its details is written in a single sentence that you can conveniently also use as the headline. The headline is not the article. "There is information in the article that isn't in the headline!" is not a valid criticism.
There is no leak (Score:2)
The Russian politburo has determined it's not possible for there to be any, therefore, there are none!
Russian Engineering (Score:2)
Like patching old, tangled software (Score:2)
Fixing one bug reveals 30 more. Would you want to trust your life to that software with a thousand band-aids? On the other hand, we probably do just that every day, without realizing it.
Corrosion (Score:2)
It probably corroded shut and sealed itself.
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... followed by catastrophic failure in 67 days.
Was it truly that difficult? (Score:2)
Go around the inside shell and seal every surface. That is not years of work.
Re: Was it truly that difficult? (Score:2)
In microgravity? Where there might be a bunch of shit bolted to the walls, with the 9 million bolts common in aerospace applications, which need to be tightened to specific torque in specific sequences to avoid stressing the material? Maybe it needn't take years, but I doubt it's as easy as just spraying Great Stuff on the walls.
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Russian tolerances.
Dramatic use of timespans (Score:2)
I'd like to know why the epoxy and cloth was paten (Score:2)
Why was the epoxy and cloth patented? I googled Germetall-1 and found it's apparently a patent on the materials and technique. The gist of it is that they soak some cloth in epoxy and cover the hole. I've done this with a broken toenail (though for that use case, cyanoacrylate is more biocompatible than epoxy).
Anybody else know more details about what's new with this technique? It sounds like a standard composite use.