February 4, 2025 at 12:52 pm

The International Space Station Is Riddled With Cracks And Leaks, But NASA Says It’s No Big Deal

by Trisha Leigh

Source: Shutterstock

We all have that thing in our house that we’ve had forever, and despite it looking really banged up, we know that it still works fine enough for now.

You might not expect a space agency to be quiet so cavalier with a giant space station in orbit, but hey.

Maybe we really aren’t that different after all.

Both NASA’s spokesperson and their associate administrator downplayed the severity of the cracks and leaks that came to light during an inspector general report.

Source: Shutterstock

The damage is mostly in a segment of the tunnel leading to the Russian portion of the station, and appear to have increased in size and are leaking more than ever.

NASA associate administrator James Free indicated the Russians had been informed, but did not seem to know whether or not the problems would be addressed.

“We have conveyed the seriousness of the leaks multiple times, including when I was in Russia earlier this year.”

They have reached a compromise regarding how long the hatch is open for now, and according to NASA spokesperson Kathryn Hambleton, the Russian cosmonauts are patching some up as the find them.

“Roscosmos has applied sealant to many of these areas of interest which has further reduced the leak rate. They continue to evaluate the areas of concern and apply sealant and patches as warranted.”

And you know what? They might not be cracks at all.

“Problematic areas have not been confirmed to be cracks, and could be simple benign imperfections that could be typically seen on a surface, like a small scratch.”

NASA also gave SpaceX a $266,000 contract to design evacuation ideas for American on the ISS should something go awry, and confirmed the contingency plan is “due to the ongoing leak detection work.”

Source: Shutterstock

The International Space Station has already been in orbit a decade longer than anticipated, with a hard-limit for a discontinuation of use fast approaching in 2031.

Time will tell whether or not NASA and the Russian space agency will want to continue collaborating on the project.

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