More leaks found in Russian Zvezda module on ISS
Earlier this week Russian astronauts located and patched three more leaks in the 20+ year old Russian Zvezda module on ISS.
Prior to this week’s discovery, the recent patching done by Russian astronauts had reduced the air loss by about half. They need to do another seal test of Zvezda to see if these newer patches have reduced it further.
The report at the link from Russia is as usual very vague. No photos of any of the leaks have been released, by either Russia or NASA. No cause either has been described. This lack of information suggests that the leaks represent a more systemic problem, possibly related to stress fractures from age and wear. If so, it also suggests that Zvezda is nearing its pull-date. How this central module will be replaced from the station remains a major mystery.
Above all, this puts some urgency to the launch of newer modules, such as those being built by the private company Axiom.
Earlier this week Russian astronauts located and patched three more leaks in the 20+ year old Russian Zvezda module on ISS.
Prior to this week’s discovery, the recent patching done by Russian astronauts had reduced the air loss by about half. They need to do another seal test of Zvezda to see if these newer patches have reduced it further.
The report at the link from Russia is as usual very vague. No photos of any of the leaks have been released, by either Russia or NASA. No cause either has been described. This lack of information suggests that the leaks represent a more systemic problem, possibly related to stress fractures from age and wear. If so, it also suggests that Zvezda is nearing its pull-date. How this central module will be replaced from the station remains a major mystery.
Above all, this puts some urgency to the launch of newer modules, such as those being built by the private company Axiom.