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Size of crack aboard space station unchanged, says Russian cosmonaut

The cosmonaut carried out work with a microscope to trace another possible air leak.

International Space Station NASA

International Space Station

MOSCOW, February 24. /TASS/. The size of a crack in the intermediate chamber of the Russian Zvezda module aboard the International Space Station (ISS) remains unchanged, cosmonaut Sergei Ryzhikov reported to Russia’s Flight Control Center on Wednesday.

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Cosmonauts see no reason to worry about ISS air leak

"It [the length] has not changed. As in the previous measurements, I do not see any changes," Ryzhikov said during his talks with Mission Control broadcast on NASA’s website.

On February 23, the cosmonaut carried out work with a microscope to trace another possible air leak. The photos of the work were transmitted to Earth and the video from GoPro cameras will be sent via the Russian broadband communications system. After completing the work, the cosmonaut reinstalled the patch in the area of the crack.

The ISS crew reported to Russia’s Flight Control Center on the morning of October 15 that the cosmonauts had found a possible air leak spot in the inter-section compartment of the Zvezda module. Cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin later specified that the air leak spot looked like a curvilinear scratch 2-3 cm long. Cosmonaut Sergei Ryzhikov later said that the fracture was about 4.5 cm in size.

In November, the ISS Russian crewmembers made images of the possible air leakage spot from the outside of the space station during their spacewalk. The cosmonauts did not notice any damage outside the station in the area of the fracture.

ISS Russian Segment Flight Director Vladimir Solovyov said in January that another spot might not be air tight aboard the space station. A Russian Progress MS-16 resupply ship delivered a microscope to the orbital outpost to look for a possible air leak.

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