Astronauts on International Space Station told to shelter as repairs under way to fix air leaks

Here’s the full statement from Nasa spokeswoman Bethany Stevens, released a short while ago:

“The Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, has
suffered from cracks and leaks for some time, and has been mitigated by
Roscosmos as much as possible to date.

“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.



“Following
new leaks, Roscosmos has elected to proceed with a more extensive repair
operation on Friday, June 5.

“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.



“We continue to work with our Russian
counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports
the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution.”