[ad_1]
Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov have found the last possible air leak on the International Space Station. The nearest Progress will deliver new means to eliminate the leak, the press service of Roscosmos said. transfers Interfax.
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 “Roscosmos“, 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.
The cosmonauts spent more than a quarter of their working time on the repair of the Russian segment of the station, and the time for scientific activities was sharply reduced.
In January 2021, the flight director of the Russian segment of the ISS, Vladimir Soloviev, reported that due to a leak, which is equivalent to a hole with a diameter of 0.2 mm, the air pressure at the station drops by 0.4 mm of mercury per day, but this is far from emergency values - from 0.5 millimeters per minute. To compensate for the leak in the ISS, it is required to regularly pump up air, nitrogen and oxygen. Their reserves have to be replenished by delivering gas from Earth on cargo ships.
In April, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov announced that Russia would withdraw from the ISS project by 2025. Vladimir Solovyov explained that after 2025, many elements on board the station will rapidly fail.
The ISS Russian Segment includes the Zarya, Zvezda, Poisk, Rassvet and Science modules.
[ad_2]
Source link
