Cavities were found on a third of the windows on the ISS Russian segment. This can lead to depressurization.

Deep cavities were found on 7 windows of the Russian segment of the ISS; in the future, this threatens with a loss of tightness. About it reported Flight Director, General Designer of the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia Vladimir Soloviev.

“We have introduced a new procedure for measuring glass deflection. Of course, they can be covered with sealed covers, but what is the point of flying at the station without windows? ” – pointed out Soloviev.

In total, about 20 windows of different diameters are installed in the Russian segment of the ISS.

Earlier, during the survey, the cosmonauts discovered new blind cracks in the first and oldest module of the Zarya station. According to Solovyov, this is an alarming situation. And the discovery of previously through cracks in another Russian module “Zvezda” leads the general designer to the idea that over time the cracks in the “Zarya” will begin to creep apart.

A small air leak on the ISS was recorded in September 2019. In October 2020, the crew discovered the first crack in the intermediate chamber of the Zvezda module and repaired it in March 2021. As previously reported in “Roskosmos”, this crack did not threaten the station and the crew. Later it became known about the presence of a second crack, which the crew also repaired in March. However, the leak did not stop, although it decreased. The astronauts continued to search for leaks and seal them. In total, six cracks were found, which were covered with a special sealant and covered with a fluoroplastic film.

Last year, cosmonauts spent more than a quarter of their working time on repairing the Russian segment of the station, and the time for scientific activities was sharply reduced.