NASA Offers Temporary Shelter for Space Station Astronauts in SpaceX’s Dragon Amid Leak Issues

On Friday, NASA temporarily accommodated five astronauts inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at the International Space Station while Russian astronauts addressed a leaking service module.

Bethany Stevens, a NASA spokesperson, initially announced on X that Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, had identified new leaks in its service module and decided to undertake an “extensive repair operation.”

“As a precaution, NASA recommended that all four members of SpaceX Crew-12, along with NASA astronaut Chris Williams, maintain a heightened safety status within the Dragon spacecraft during the repairs,” she said. “We are actively working with our Russian counterparts and the broader international community supporting the space station to seek a more permanent solution.”

However, about an hour later, Stevens provided an update indicating that Roscosmos had halted their repair efforts to assess “additional measurements and data.”

“Given this situation, NASA has instructed the crew in the Dragon spacecraft to conclude safe haven protocols and resume normal operations aboard the International Space Station.”

The Russian service module has been experiencing leaks for a considerable time. Stevens noted on Friday that the cracks “have consistently been an issue that NASA monitors closely.”

SpaceX has not yet responded to requests for comments.

At present, there are ten individuals aboard the ISS. Four of them (two NASA astronauts, one European Space Agency astronaut, and one Russian cosmonaut) arrived in February as part of the long-duration SpaceX Crew-12 mission. The other three (one NASA astronaut and two cosmonauts) came last November via a Russian Soyuz mission.

The repair operation and temporary shelter protocol coincide with ongoing uncertainties regarding the future of the International Space Station. Under the new leadership of Jared Isaacman, NASA is pushing for the replacement of the aging station with commercially produced modules later this decade.

This story has been updated to indicate that the sheltering has concluded.