International Space Station leak update: NASA directs astronauts to take shelter in SpaceX's Dragon

NASA has released an official update on the air leak aboard the International Space Station. With Roscosmos deciding to carry out an extensive inspection and structural repair of leak areas, NASA asked five astronauts to take shelter inside the SpaceX Crew-12 Dragon spacecraft as a precaution on Friday, June 5, 2026. The leak has not yet been fixed; however, the crew members are safe, and the station is operational. "NASA will continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international partners that support the space station, to assess and ensure a resolution to this matter," the American space agency said in an official press release. Despite the tense situation, Crew-12 commander Jessica Meir offered reassurance directly from orbit. "There is a lot going on right now on the @Space_Station, but fortunately we are all safe and witnessed a spectacular southern aurora show yesterday thanks to a recent solar event," she wrote on X.

What happened aboard the ISS?

The International Space Station has been dealing with a slow air leak in one of its Russian-built sections, called the PrK. The section is a transfer tunnel connected to the Zvezda service module. The tunnel has been plagued by cracks resulting in atmospheric leaks since 2019 and has had Roscosmos undertake several monitoring and repair efforts. NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens took to X, saying, "The cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely. NASA and Roscosmos have been working to determine the root cause of the cracks, and Roscosmos manages the issue through operational mitigation measures and periodic partial-repair efforts." 

During cargo operations for the Progress 95 supply spacecraft in the week of June 1, Roscosmos measured the leak rate at two pounds of atmosphere per day. This was higher than what had previously been recorded. Roscosmos also identified new suspected leak areas in the PrK. This pushed the Russian space agency to move toward a more extensive fix. "Following new leaks, Roscosmos has elected to proceed with a more extensive repair operation on Friday, June 5,” Stevens added. The plan involved cutting a bracket to access and inspect a section of the tunnel identified as a possible leak source. However, this method carried a risk of damaging the surrounding structure if things didn't go smoothly.

As Roscosmos prepared to carry out the structurally risky repair, NASA directed the four Crew-12 members—NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev—to take shelter inside their Dragon spacecraft alongside NASA astronaut Chris Williams, who had arrived separately aboard Russia's Soyuz MS-28. Explaining the decision, Stevens shared, "Out of an abundance of caution, NASA has directed all four of the agency's SpaceX Crew-12 members and NASA astronaut Chris Williams to assume an elevated safety posture in the Dragon spacecraft while the repair is underway."

Leak repair work paused for now

Roscosmos stopped before making any structural changes and shifted to taking additional measurements and reviewing areas where sealant had previously been applied. In a follow-up statement on X, Stevens said, "Roscosmos has paused Friday's structural repair efforts inside the Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, as more measurements and data is assessed. Given this development, NASA has instructed the crew members inside the Dragon spacecraft to end the safe haven procedures and return to planned operations aboard the International Space Station."

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