How Severe Is the ISS Leak? US and Russia Clash on Issue [Video]

The dispute between NASA and Russia’s Roscosmos space agency over an air leak in the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) continues following a meeting of NASA‘s ISS Advisory Committee on Wednesday.

At the heart of the disagreement is a small but persistent leak in a vestibule of the Zvezda service module called PrK, which separates a docking port from the rest of the module.

The leak has existed for several years, with station crews dealing with it by sealing off the PrK when not in use.

While leak rates on the ISS have been manageable, they have grown to the highest levels yet in 2024, reaching a loss of 1.7 kilograms of air per day, according to a September report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG).

This has elevated concerns from NASA about the structural integrity of the module.