Russia

Temperature Increasing on Russian Zvezda Module as Air Continues to Leak From ISS

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS) are reporting a temperature rise on the Russian Zvezda Service Module where an air leak has been spotted, Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner said.
Sputnik

The temperature is slowly increasing on Zvezda, Vagner told a specialist at the RKA Mission Control Center of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, as broadcast by NASA (US National Aeronautics and Space Administration) on Sunday. The mission control specialist said that a normal temperature should be restored on Monday morning.

A small air leak was registered on the ISS in September 2019. In August of this year the speed at which air was leaking from the ISS increased. The ISS crew was isolated in the Russian segment of the station for four days while the ISS module hatches were closed and a test for leaks was conducted. Eventually, the air leak was traced to Zvezda, but the precise location of the leak, which is very minor, has not been found.

A spokesperson of Russian space agency Roscosmos told Sputnik that the safety of the ISS crew is not jeopardized by the air leak.

However, according to Sergey Krikalev, executive director for manned space programs of Roscosmos, additional air might have to be delivered to the ISS if the crew fails to get rid of the leak.

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