As human space technology continues to advance, the International Space Station (ISS) serves as an important platform for human exploration, carrying the mission of scientific experimentation and international cooperation. However, a recent report released by NASA revealed a potentially significant safety risk that has persisted for up to five years, deeply worrying the scientific community and space enthusiasts. This discovery not only challenges the operational safety of the space station but also triggers deep reflection and discussion about the future of space missions. Against this backdrop, NASA personnel have responded to media concerns by launching further investigations and explanations.
Hidden Dangers of The International Space Station
According to the US website Space, the ISS has been suffering from air leaks for five years, but since earlier this year there has been a ‘temporary acceleration of the leakage rate’. NASA has previously emphasized that there is no immediate danger to ISS astronauts, but newly revealed reports show that NASA officials have changed their tune and admitted that air leaks have become the most pressing issue facing the aging ISS and ‘could threaten the physical safety of astronauts’.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the problem likely lies in the transfer path between the Russian Zvezda service module and the cargo spacecraft’s docking port. NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) disagree on the cause and remedy of the leak on the International Space Station, said former U.S. astronaut Bob Cabana, chairman of NASA’s International Space Station Advisory Board, during a live conference on 13 December. The causes and remedies for the leak on the ISS differ: NASA is concerned about the structural integrity of the leak on the Zvezda service module and the potential for catastrophic failure, while the Russian Federal Space Agency is ‘not convinced that the risk of catastrophic disintegration is real.’
Currently, the ISS has four cracks and 50 ‘worrisome hazards’, and is leaking 2-2.5 pounds of air per day above the normal rate. At one point in April this year, the ISS was leaking air at a rate of about 3.7 pounds per day. Russian cosmonauts then covered all known cracks with sealant and patching, ‘repairs are ongoing’ and today the daily air leaks have been reduced by about 1/3, but they still haven’t stopped. What’s worrying for the outside world is that Russia has made several previous attempts to patch the leaks, but the results have not been satisfactory. This suggests that there are either other cracks on the ISS that have gone undetected, or the situation is worse – new cracks are appearing all the time. NASA’s Office of the Inspector General has upgraded the risk assessment level of the ISS to the highest possible level. A statement released by NASA reveals that, because the suspected cracks are so small they are not visible to the naked eye and the neighborhood is densely covered with braces and pipes, it is difficult for astronauts to reach into these areas with their tools, making it more difficult to find the leak.
At the technical level, the problem is mainly related to the design and choice of materials for the International Space Station. Owing to its long-term operation in an extreme environment, certain components of the Station are exposed to multiple tests such as micrometeoroid impacts, radiation, and extreme temperature changes. These factors have combined to cause microcracks and loss of strength in certain structures, which in the long term may have an impact on the overall stability of the station as a whole, and NASA is actively pursuing the application of advanced materials and engineering technologies to repair and upgrade affected components to ensure the safe operation of ISS in future missions.
American and Russian technical teams also disagree on what caused the ISS to leak. The Russians believe that micro-vibrations on the ISS – possibly caused by mechanical systems used for energy storage – caused the bulkhead to crack due to ‘metal fatigue’; NASA believes the situation is more complex, involving a combination of mechanical stresses, environmental exposure and residual stresses, and that even the transfer tunnel may have had material or workmanship flaws during the ground manufacturing process. The United States is currently promoting an independent assessment by experts from both sides to reach a consensus on the root cause and severity of the leak.
Spill Response And Astronaut Safety on The International Space Station
Although the United States and Russia have not yet agreed on the exact cause of the leak on the ISS, both sides have asked astronauts in space to take precautions. For example, the leaky transfer tunnel must remain sealed at all times, and will only be opened temporarily when a cargo ship carrying supplies docks with the Zvezda service module, NASA astronaut Michael Barratt said, adding that when astronauts have to open the transfer tunnel, they will close the gates connecting it to the rest of the station.
In addition to requiring astronauts to strictly limit the use of the Zvezda service module’s transfer path, NASA is also requiring manned spacecraft docked at the ISS to temporarily install an additional ‘pallet seat’. Located on top of the area originally used for cargo, it allows astronauts to strap themselves in if they need to return to Earth in a manned spacecraft in an emergency. The manned spacecraft was designed to carry seven astronauts but was commissioned with only four official seats for safety reasons. According to current plans, the ISS manned spacecraft is being used to carry the two astronauts on the Crew-9 mission and the two American astronauts who were previously forced to remain in space due to the failure of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, CNN explains. The new ‘tray seat’ is reserved for American astronaut Don Pettit, who arrived at the ISS aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. If the ISS is deemed unsafe and Pettitte is unable to enter the spacecraft docked on the Russian segment, he can sit in the manned spacecraft’s ‘tray seat’ and return home with four other astronauts.
Impact on Various Aspects
A report released in September by NASA’s Office of Inspector General revealed that the U.S. and Russian space agencies agreed that if air leaks on the ISS reached ‘unsustainable’ levels, it might be necessary to permanently shut down problematic segments, but the two sides did not specify the exact definition of ‘unsustainable’.
The market’s reaction to this news should not be underestimated. Many aerospace and related companies have begun to reevaluate their commercial partnerships and investment strategies related to the ISS. Some experts believe that this long unnoticed safety concern could not only affect the space agency’s subsequent space program, but also have an impact on the normal progress of the projects of commercial companies and research institutes that rely on the station for their research. For investors, ensuring project safety has become a top priority, and future space investments will be more cautious and focus on long-term sustainable development.
From an industry perspective, it is clear that this incident has become a wake-up call for the entire aerospace industry. Aerospace scientists and engineers need to pay more attention to materials science and technology for spacecraft in extreme environments, and a wave of research and development of new materials is likely to be ushered in by the industry in the future, especially in terms of durability and safety improvements. At the same time, the importance of international cooperation on this issue is becoming more apparent, and national space agencies may need to work together to develop more stringent safety standards and to address potential safety threats.
For the public, the safety of the ISS has undoubtedly drawn greater public attention to space exploration engineering. The general public and space enthusiasts are very concerned about the safety of astronauts, which stimulates the public’s understanding of and participation in space science. At the same time, the public is more and more interested in seeing how space agencies will resolve these difficulties to ensure that future space missions can be carried out smoothly and to promote human exploration and understanding of space.
