NASA Briefly Shelters ISS Crew in SpaceX Dragon as Roscosmos Pauses Leak Repairs for Assessment

NASA on Friday briefly directed five of the seven crew members aboard the International Space Station to wait inside the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft, known as a safe haven, amid new concerns over cracks in a transfer tunnel in the Russian module.

The agency told the crew members they could return to normal operations after Roscosmos paused repair efforts and decided to take measurements and assess data. "We look forward to working with Roscosmos on a collaborative approach to address the leaks," NASA said in a statement.

The cracks have been the source of a small air leak that has persisted on and off for the last six years. The leak is considered a top safety risk, and there have been several attempts over the years to repair the cracks. "The cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely," the agency said.

Roscosmos noticed a slow pressure drop in the transfer tunnel last month following the arrival of a Russian cargo ship. NASA and Roscosmos have been trying to determine the cause of the cracks while the Russian space agency addresses the issue through operational mitigation measures and periodic partial-repair efforts.

After new leaks appeared, NASA initially said Roscosmos decided to move forward with a more extensive repair operation Friday before the Russians decided only to perform measurements.

"We continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution," NASA said.