Roscosmos said that cosmonauts spend half of their time on repairs to the outdated station
An air leak was discovered in the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS). According to Roscosmos, the station crew regularly carries out work to find and eliminate possible leaks, routinely transferring data to specialists for analysis. The crew is not in any danger due to this situation, the state corporation emphasized. Roscosmos also notes that the obsolescence of the ISS design leads to the fact that repair and restoration work takes a lot of time from the crew. According to the general designer of RSC "Energia" Vladimir Solovyov, repairs take up to 50% of the astronauts’ useful time.
Previously, Joel Montalbano, ISS program manager at the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), said that air leaks in the Russian segment doubled about a week before the latest launch « Progress» and its docking with the station. The leak was discovered in the aft part of the Russian service module, where Progress cargo ships dock. Montalbano added that the astronauts are working with their Russian colleagues on next steps, but this leak does not seriously affect the safety of the crew.