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15Oct20

Cosmonauts aboard space station to patch up possible air leak with foam

Specialists of Russia’s Flight Control Center recommended the cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to patch up a fracture in the intersection compartment of the Russian Zvezda module with polyurethane foam and tape, according to a live broadcast on NASA’s website on Thursday.

Fracture is considered as the likely cause of the air leak aboard the orbital outpost.

A Flight Control Center specialist recommended the cosmonauts to seal the crack with a piece of polyurethane foam 5mm in diameter and tape. "The polyurethane foam does not have to be the same size [the size of the fracture]. The goal of the polyurethane foam is to create a bubble. At the same time, the polyurethane foam should not plug the crack as there must be a place to observe," the specialist said.

Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner earlier sent to Earth photos of the possible air leak spot that had been traced as well as photos and video of the fracture.

The ISS crew reported to the Flight Control Center on Thursday morning that the possible air leakage had been traced with the help of a tea bag. Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos told TASS that the Flight Control Center would soon give the crew instructions on holding checks to make sure that the cosmonauts had really found the air leak spot. Based on the work carried out, it will be possible to localize the air leak area, it said.

A source told TASS in August that the space station’s Russian-American crew was working on tracing an air leak aboard the orbital outpost. As Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos later told TASS, the cosmonauts had come to the conclusion that the air leak was located in the Russian Zvezda module but posed no threat to the crew’s life and health.

[Source: Tass, Moscow, 15Oct20]
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