Overview
- NASA directed astronauts at 9:04 a.m. ET on Friday to don spacesuits and enter the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon as Roscosmos began an extensive repair of the Zvezda PrK transfer tunnel.
- Russian specialists reported detecting two leaks during the inspection, sealing the first and then pausing further structural repairs while they gather more measurements and data.
- The affected passage, called the PrK transfer tunnel in the Zvezda service module, has suffered recurring cracks and leaks for years and was recently losing roughly two pounds of air per day after rising from about one pound per day.
- Five crew members sheltered in the single docked Dragon capsule while the remaining two cosmonauts stayed in the Russian segment to carry out the on‑site work; NASA says there was no immediate threat to crew safety and has cleared the crew to return to normal operations.
- The episode highlights operational reliance on docked spacecraft as lifeboats and raises fresh questions about repairs and the long‑term viability of the aging ISS as U.S. and Russian teams coordinate a path to a more permanent fix.