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+--- Thread: Article Fixing air leaks on space station compromised by politics (/thread-15999.html)
Fixing air leaks on space station compromised by politics - C C - Jun 8, 2024
https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/06/on-the-space-station-band-aid-fixes-for-systemic-problems/
EXCERPTS: NASA and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, still have not solved a long-running and worsening problem with leaks on the International Space Station. ... NASA officials have downplayed the severity of the leak risks publicly and in meetings with external stakeholders of the International Space Station.
[...] there appears to be rising concern in the ISS program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The space agency often uses a 5x5 "risk matrix" to classify the likelihood and consequence of risks to spaceflight activities, and the Russian leaks are now classified as a "5" both in terms of high likelihood and high consequence. Their potential for "catastrophic failure" is discussed in meetings.
[...] US officials are likely remaining quiet about their concerns because they don't want to embarrass their Russian partners. ... The leaks are a sensitive subject. Because of Russian war efforts, the resources available to the country's civil space program will remain flat or even decrease in the coming years... (MORE - missing details)