NASA ordered astronauts aboard the International Space Station to shelter in their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and prepare for a potential evacuation on Friday. The order was issued as a Russian crew attempted to fix a worsening air leak in the Russian portion of the orbital laboratory.
Out of an abundance of caution, five of the seven crew members, including four from NASA's Crew-12 mission—two Americans, one Frenchman, and one Russian—moved into the capsule and donned their spacesuits. The shelter procedure was initiated while cosmonauts worked to address the leak on the Russian side of the station.
Roscosmos reported that experts detected two leaks in the transition chamber compartment of the Zvezda module. One leak was repaired using a hermetic compound, while preparations were made to seal a second leak located on the conical part of the compartment. The Russian space agency stated that the situation did not threaten the safety of the crew or onboard systems, as pressure remained stable at calculated levels.
The crew eventually left the capsule and returned to regular operations after repair work was paused and officials determined no urgent action was needed. That part of the space station has suffered from cracks and leaks over the years, and NASA and Roscosmos have been working to determine the cause of the problems.