NASA has temporarily paused repair operations linked to the persistent air leak inside the Russian segment of the International Space Station after engineers decided additional analysis was needed before continuing work.
The decision prompted a rapid change in emergency procedures onboard the orbital laboratory. After instructing astronauts to shelter inside docked spacecraft as a precaution, NASA later ordered crew members to return to regular station operations.
According to NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens, Russian space agency Roscosmos halted Friday’s repair attempts inside the transfer tunnel of the station’s service module while specialists assess additional measurements and technical data.
Emergency procedures briefly activated aboard ISS
Before the decision to pause repair work, five astronauts had already moved into the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft as part of standard safe-haven procedures.
NASA instructed Crew-12 astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev, along with NASA astronaut Chris Williams, to enter the spacecraft and wear pressure suits in preparation for a possible emergency departure.
The Dragon spacecraft, currently attached to the station, effectively serves as an orbital lifeboat capable of undocking quickly if necessary.
NASA emphasized that the measure was precautionary and did not represent a full evacuation order.
Russian cosmonauts remained near the leak
While Crew Dragon occupants waited inside their return vehicle, Russian station commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and flight engineer Sergei Mikaev remained inside the Russian segment of the station closer to the affected area.
Their designated evacuation vehicle remains the separately docked Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft.
Even in the event of a complete station evacuation, astronauts would not simply leave aboard whichever spacecraft they happened to occupy at the time.
Return assignments are fixed before launch.
Under current assignments, Crew Dragon would return Meir, Hathaway, Adenot and Fedyaev to Earth with splashdown operations off the US coast, while Kud-Sverchkov, Mikaev and Chris Williams would return aboard Soyuz, landing in Kazakhstan.
NASA and Roscosmos continue monitoring leak
The air leak itself remains located within the transfer tunnel section of the Russian Zvezda service module, an area that has experienced ongoing pressure concerns for years.
NASA says crews have now resumed planned station operations while engineers from both agencies continue evaluating long-term solutions.
For now, the International Space Station remains operational, but the episode demonstrated how rapidly emergency procedures can be activated when conditions aboard the orbiting laboratory change.
With spacesuits prepared, spacecraft powered and emergency procedures rehearsed, crews remain ready should conditions deteriorate again.
