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At 13:04 UTC today (June 5, 2026), NASA ordered astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to put on their spacesuits, take shelter and prepare for evacuation. The instruction came as Russian crewmembers attempted to repair a worsening air leak on their side of the station. <\/p>\n
Less than two hours later, Mission Control said the sheltering astronauts \u2013 two U.S. astronauts, a French astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut \u2013 could exit the \u201csafe haven\u201d of their Crew Dragon spacecraft. This is because the repair attempt had been paused to allow new measurements to be assessed, NASA said.<\/p>\n
The leak is in a transfer tunnel module on the Russian side of the ISS, known as PrK. It\u2019s been a known issue since 2019, and NASA and Russia\u2019s space agency Roscosmos have long been debating the cause and potential fixes. NASA officials reportedly said in a late-2024 meeting that the leak could lead to \u201ca catastrophic failure.\u201d<\/p>\n
NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens wrote on X today that:<\/p>\n
\nThe cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
And a senior NASA official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the leaks worsened on Monday, escalating from a pound (.45 kg) of air per day to two pounds (.9 kg).<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what drove this repair attempt, and the evacuation precautions. Stevens continued:<\/p>\n
\nFollowing new leaks, Roscosmos has elected to proceed with a more extensive repair operation on Friday, June 5. Out of an abundance of caution, NASA has directed all four of the agency\u2019s SpaceX Crew-12 members and NASA astronaut Chris Williams to assume an elevated safety posture in the Dragon spacecraft while the repair is underway.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
But within a few hours, the repair attempt had been paused. Stevens explained in a follow-up post:<\/p>\n
\nRoscosmos has paused Friday\u2019s structural repair efforts inside the Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, as more measurements and data is assessed. Given this development, NASA has instructed the crew members inside the Dragon spacecraft to end the safe haven procedures and return to planned operations aboard the International Space Station. We look forward to working with Roscosmos on a collaborative approach to address the leaks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Bottom line: The International Space Station has a leak. NASA told the astronauts yesterday to shelter and prepare for an evacuation. What happened? Read about the ISS leak.<\/p>\n
Read more: Could the space station leak lead to \u2018catastrophic failure\u2019?<\/p>\n
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