ISS Evacuates to Dragon Amid Air‑Leak Repair Dispute

Fri Jun 05 2026 18:29:48 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

When NASA and Roscosmos disagreed on a repair method to a leaking tunnel, the ISS crew was ordered to shelter aboard the SpaceX Dragon lifeboat.

A sudden air‑leak in the ISS’s transfer tunnel prompted Russian cosmonauts to attempt a cut‑and‑repair with a saw. NASA found the approach unsafe and ordered five astronauts to move into the attached Dragon spacecraft. After the repairs were halted, the crew returned to the station, and the leak was monitored with no immediate danger to crew or module systems.

ISS Crew Shelters in Dragon as NASA Orders Air‑Leak Repair to Pause

The International Space Station (ISS) experienced a sudden surge in air loss from a crack in its Russian‑owned Zvezda module. The leak occurred in the PrK transfer tunnel, a passage that links the Russian segment to the rest of the station. Five of the seven astronauts aboard were immediately instructed to move into the docked SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, a modular “lifeboat” that can detach and return to Earth on short notice.

The crew comprised U.S. NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, alongside British astronaut Chris Williams. All were told to don suits ahead of an emergency undocking protocol.

Russian flight engineer Sergei Mikaev and commander Sergey Kud‑Sverchkov had been attempting to plug the leak using a saw—a method NASA deemed potentially hazardous. Following a pause order from Roscosmos, NASA’s Houston Mission Control asked the crew to abandon the “safe‑haven” procedures and resume planned operations aboard the ISS.

ISS interior during air‑leak incident — The ISS’s interior with astronauts on the docked Dragon.

NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens clarified on X: "Given this development, NASA has instructed the crew members inside the Dragon spacecraft to end safe‑haven procedures and return to planned operations aboard the ISS."

Roscosmos said in a statement that the incident posed no threat to crew safety or station systems, and that the integrity of the ISS remains intact. The station, which has been actively maintained since 1998, spans the length of a football field and remains the largest artificial object in orbit.

Viewers can watch the moment the crew docks with the ISS at the Kennedy Space Center by visiting BBC Video.