The incident described as iss russia drill tension forced five astronauts to take shelter aboard a docked Dragon spacecraft, NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens said.
The shelter order followed renewed concern about persistent leaks in a short transfer tunnel known as the PrK, which links the Zvezda module to an aft docking port and has leaked on and off since at least 2019.
Russian plans to use handheld saws and a drill with a so called drill stop to repair microscopic cracks alarmed NASA, as reported by The Register and Ars Technica, and prompted urgent disagreement between the agencies.
One NASA official told Ars Technica that the agency warned it would put astronauts in suits and into Dragon to send a message, and that Roscosmos initially ignored the warning, according to the same report.
After communications faltered and cosmonauts approached the PrK with a saw and intended to remove a load bearing bracket, NASA ordered Crew 12 members into the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom out of what officials called abundance of caution, as reported by SpaceNews.
Implications And Responses
Following the safe haven action, NASA sources said Roscosmos stood down, and Russia later informed NASA it would decommission the PrK module, according to Ars Technica.
Decommissioning means the PrK will no longer be pressurized, which will limit access to its attached dock and change how Russia uses that docking port for supplies and fluid transfers, as reported by Ars Technica.
SpaceNews reported that cosmonauts instead took measurements and applied sealant to one suspected leak area while studying a second area, foregoing the more invasive cutting and drilling originally planned.
Concerns about PrK structural integrity have been longstanding, with retired NASA official Bob Cabana previously cited by Ars Technica warning about possible rapid failure, and ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen telling The Register that the module could be sealed off while the station could continue to operate.
Ars Technica also reported that the newly discovered cracks raised the total number of cracks to about 16, leaving officials to weigh operational impacts and contingency plans while the agencies negotiate further steps.
