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NASA confirmed that crew members aboard the International Space Station briefly moved into a docked SpaceX capsule on Friday after new air leaks were found in the Russian segment, then returned to the station once repair work was paused and conditions were reassessed. The episode adds to a pattern of small but persistent sealing problems on the aging outpost, underscoring operational challenges as the partners plan the station’s eventual retirement.
Brief shelter-in-place while repairs began
Ground controllers detected fresh leaks in the transfer tunnel of the Russian Zvezda service module — the small passage known on station diagrams as the PrK. Russian cosmonauts prepared a more extensive repair effort, prompting U.S. mission control to advise four non-Russian crew members to take an elevated safety posture.
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Those astronauts moved into the single docked SpaceX Dragon capsule attached at the Harmony node, which contains extra sleeping space and life-support capability. NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens relayed the decision on the social platform X, describing the measure as a precaution while repairs were underway.
Shortly afterward, repair activity was halted so the Russian team could collect additional readings. With measurements showing no immediate hazard, the agency lifted the temporary shelter directive and allowed the crew to reenter the station.
- When: Shelter order issued and then rescinded on June 5, 2026, during repair operations.
- Where: Leak source identified in the Zvezda transfer tunnel (PrK) of the Russian segment.
- Who sheltered: Four non-Russian crewmembers — three Americans and one French astronaut — used the docked Dragon as a temporary safe haven.
- Current status: Repairs paused for additional measurements; crew returned to normal station activities after the pause.
Who is aboard Expedition 74?
Seven people currently live and work on the orbital laboratory as part of Expedition 74. The manifest includes Crew-12 members who arrived in mid-February — NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev — as well as NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Mikaev and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, who arrived aboard Soyuz MS-28 in late November.
Some of those Crew-12 astronauts are scheduled to return to Earth in September after Crew-13 arrives. Others will remain until their replacements launch this summer.
Why this episode matters
Air leaks have been a recurring operational issue on the station, most often traced to the older Russian modules. Small breaches are typically managed on-site with temporary fixes — from sealant to applied patches — and they rarely put the crew in immediate danger. Still, repeated incidents feed into larger concerns about the platform’s structural margin.
In June 2025, a leak in the same section delayed a private mission’s launch, and NASA and partners have said the station’s sustained wear is one reason international partners are planning to decommission the outpost around 2030. Engineers continue to monitor pressure trends, run diagnostics and coordinate repair strategies with Roscosmos.
What to watch next: NASA and Roscosmos will likely publish further measurements or an outline of the planned permanent repairs. Any additional shelter orders, changes to crew timelines or unexpected degradation of pressure will be treated as high priority by both agencies.
Update: NASA reported the temporary shelter order was ended after repair operations were paused and crews took additional measurements; the station remains operational and the team is assessing longer-term remedies.
