ISS Astronauts Ordered to Shelter in SpaceX Crew Dragon as Air Leak Worsens
Summary: On August 2, 2026, as the air leak in the Zvezda modules PrK tunnel escalated, NASA ordered the ISS crew to shelter in the SpaceX Crew Dragon.
On August 2, 2026, NASA announced that a known air leak aboard the International Space Station (ISS) had worsened. The leak is located in the PrK transfer tunnel of the Russian Zvezda service module. Due to the increased leak rate, which posed a potential risk to the station's environment, NASA's Mission Control immediately instructed the entire crew aboard the ISS to seek shelter inside the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft as a precaution.
This incident marks the latest development in a long-standing issue with the PrK tunnel of the Zvezda module, which connects the service module to the rest of the station. The seal integrity problem has troubled station operators for years. While previous leak rates were reportedly manageable, monitoring data from August 2 indicated a significant escalation, prompting the precautionary evacuation. The crew will remain on standby inside the Crew Dragon until ground teams complete their assessment of the leak and confirm the safety of the station's main modules.
Currently, engineers from NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos are jointly analyzing data to determine the root cause of the increased leak and formulate a response plan. The SpaceX Crew Dragon, docked as a lifeboat, is designed precisely to provide a safe haven and a means of return to Earth for astronauts during such emergencies. This shelter-in-place operation serves as a practical test of its emergency capabilities.