„Russland scheint endlich bereit zu sein, langfristige, schwerwiegende Risse in der Raumstation anzugehen“

>Although NASA has not publicly discussed the gravity of its concerns about the issue—presumably out of a desire to respect its Russian counterpart—the PrK module could break apart without much advance warning. Under pressure, the module could unzip and fail completely. A former astronaut and retired NASA official, Bob Cabana, [described the issue](https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/nasa-roscosmos-disagree-on-risk-of-catastrophic-failure-from-iss-air-leak/) in late 2024, saying, “NASA has expressed concerns about the structural integrity of the PrK and the possibility of a catastrophic failure.”

>This has been a persistent, behind-the-scenes dispute between NASA and Russian officials for years. Russia will say it has the situation under control, and then leak rates on the space station suggest otherwise. The new cracks discovered in early June brought the total to about 16.

>As leak rates rose, Russian officials informed NASA on Thursday, June 4, of plans to attempt physical repairs to the new leaks with a drill and a “drill stop” device to prevent drilling all the way through the module’s structure. NASA officials were deeply concerned about this because Roscosmos had not shown them an analysis of the problem or explained why their procedures to address the leaks would work.

>“We threatened we would put astronauts in suits, in Dragon, to send a message to world that we disagreed,” one NASA official told Ars. “They didn’t care.”

>The standoff continued into Friday morning, when Russian astronauts appeared to back off their plans, only to subsequently approach the PrK module with a saw and the intent to remove a load-bearing bracket. Meanwhile, Roscosmos officials continued to ignore communication with NASA officials on the ground.

>At this point, NASA directed Crew 12—US astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev into SpaceX’s Crew Dragon *Freedom* spacecraft—along with US astronaut Chris Williams, who had flown to the station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

>“We felt there was a very high probability of a bad outcome happening if they sawed that bracket off,” a NASA source said. NASA’s decision to send its astronauts into a safe haven prompted Roscosmos to finally back off.

>In the days since, there has been some additional back-and-forth, but Russia has now told NASA it will decommission the PrK module.

>Effectively, this means cosmonauts will no longer enter the PrK module or attempt to pressurize it. Progress vehicles will still be able to use the docking port to transfer fluids or perform other functions, but Russia will need to use other ports to move supplies on board the space station.

>For NASA and the space station’s longevity, this agreement with Russia represents a significant step forward. For years, NASA has reluctantly accepted the risk of a rapid depressurization event on board the space station due to the PrK module’s issues. Now that risk should be retired.

Russia is approaching spaceflight like some rednecks approach car repairs.

I don’t understand the jump from drilling holes to stop the cracks to cutting off a load bearing member with a saw.

I totally understand the thought behind drilling holes to stop the cracks, that is a semi solid plan if proper engineering is done. I don’t know why cutting off a load bearing brace is the next step.

Can someone barney style draw out what module is leaking and what sections would be inaccessible is it is sealed off? I can’t seem to get a good answer; all I could surmise it is a part of the zvezda module; but what side? Just the docking port on the end, or the 4 port globe? If it is the globe does that mean sealing it would lock out 75% of the Russian segment?

Can someone please introduce our colleagues at Roscosmos to JB Weld?