NASA directed astronauts aboard the international space station to briefly seek emergency refuge in Crew Dragon after Roscosmos proposed drilling and cutting into cracks in the PrK area of Zvezda. After Russia backed off that repair plan, Crew-12 and Williams ended their safe haven activities and returned to normal operations.
PrK cracks and Crew Dragon
The PrK is a small transfer area that connects the Russian segment’s main area to a rear docking port used to reach visiting spacecraft. The leaks have been venting the station’s atmosphere into space for several years, and the cracking issue has been ongoing since 2019.
Bob Cabana said in late 2024 that NASA had expressed concerns about the structural integrity of the PrK and the possibility of a catastrophic failure. His warning matched the risk tied to a compartment that cosmonauts must pressurize before they can access Progress spacecraft docked there and unload cargo.
June 4 and June 5
Roscosmos informed NASA on Thursday, June 4, of plans to attempt physical repairs to the new leaks with a drill and a drill stop device. Roscosmos began work toward a more extensive inspection and structural repair effort on Friday, June 5, after the leak rate had resumed in May and increased in early June.
NASA was concerned because Roscosmos had not shown an analysis of the problem or explained why its procedures would work. The new cracks discovered in early June brought the total to about 16, adding to a repair problem that Russian astronauts had already tried to manage with Germetall-1.
Russia backs off
Russia later backed off the initial repair plan and cited the need to conduct additional measurements and inspections of the areas where leaks were occurring. NASA said, “NASA strongly supported that decision, and as a result, following that decision, Crew-12 and Williams ended their safe haven activities and returned to normal operations aboard the orbiting laboratory.”
The immediate result was a return to routine work on the station, but the larger question remains whether Russia will ultimately seal off the damaged PrK compartment or resume physical repair attempts. For astronauts, the practical issue is the same one NASA flagged in late 2024: how to keep a small but critical tunnel usable without turning a leak problem into a structural failure.
