Tension flared aboard the International Space Station on June 5 as iss russia drill tension emerged when Roscosmos prepared invasive repairs on a known leak in the PrK tunnel, officials said.
NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens said five astronauts were ordered to shelter in a docked Dragon spacecraft out of an abundance of caution while Russian crews pursued mitigation measures to fix cracks.
Officials speaking on condition of anonymity told Ars Technica and The Register that initial Russian plans included using a handsaw and using a drill and a drill stop, a device designed to punch through the module wall.
According to those sources, cosmonauts approached the PrK module with a saw intending to remove a load bearing bracket, and communications between agencies briefly broke down amid the repair effort.
A NASA official told Ars that US mission control warned Roscosmos by threatening to place astronauts in suits and in the Dragon spacecraft to signal disagreement, and that the shelter-in-place order was enough to convince Roscosmos to stand down.
Impacts And Risks
The PrK section connects the Zvezda module to an aft docking port and has leaked on and off since at least 2019, raising long standing concerns about station integrity and crew safety, sources said.
Roscosmos and NASA have kept many details private, and Ars and The Register reported that the PrK module will be decommissioned and left unpressurized for the foreseeable future, which could limit use of its attached dock.
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen told The Register sealing off the module would allow the station to continue in the worst case, though he cautioned that other problems might still arise, underscoring lasting operational risks.
The episode highlights frayed on‑orbit coordination during an unexpected repair, and it prompted an immediate precautionary shelter order, while longer term fixes and their implications for docking remain unresolved.
