spacetoday.net: ISS crew still looking for air leak

Posted: Sat, Jan 10, 2004, 9:43 AM ET (1443 GMT)
ISS illustration (NASA)

The crew of the International Space Station were unable Friday to pinpoint the location of a small air leak on the station, and may be forced to temporarily partition the facility to narrow down the site of the leak. The crew checked a carbon dioxide scrubber on the station Friday, thinking the faulty seals could be the cause of the leak, but found no signs of any problems there. Station managers are now planning to close hatches separating the US and Russian segments of the station for four to five days to determine what part of the station has the leak. During this time the crew would stay in the Russian segment, where the living quarters are, but would not have access to the experiments or communications equipment in the US segment. Russian and American officials disagree on when the leak started and how much air has been lost, but do agree that the crew is in no danger from the slow leak for the foreseeable future.