NASA Almost Evacuated The ISS Because Russia Wanted To Drill The Hull And Use A Saw To Fix A Leak

On June 5, NASA ordered the astronauts of its Crew-12 mission to prepare to evacuate the International Space Station (ISS), because of a long-running air leak issue on the Russian side. Fortunately, after a few tense hours of the two Americans, one French, and one Russian huddling in the SpaceX Dragon capsule for emergency return, NASA sounded the all-clear. But what's leaking out now isn't air: it's the story of what exactly happened in low-Earth orbit to trigger this whole situation. And as it turns out, the root issue wasn't even the leak itself, but the Russian cosmonauts trying to fix it... with a drill and a saw. In space.

According to reporting from Ars Technica, the Russians had used a sealant to finally plug the leaks earlier this year. The leaks are all located in the PrK transfer tunnel connected to Russia's Zvezda module; essentially, it's a short hallway between the actual station and a dock for spacecraft. Normally, the PrK is depressurized, meaning there's no air in it at all. The trouble happens when it's pressurized, which they do when a spacecraft docks and cosmonauts need to retrieve the supplies onboard. Air has been seeping out of the 26-year-old tunnel for years, losing anywhere from 2-4 pounds per day. In the worst case scenario, the leak could lead to an explosive unraveling of the whole tunnel, the shrapnel from which could destroy the whole station. But with the sealant in place, all was well!

Until, of course, it wasn't. The leaks returned in May. And so, on June 4, Russian space agency Roscosmos told its American counterpart NASA that it would be trying something else: drilling the hull of a station in the unforgiving vacuum of space.

I'm sorry, but this is the most "Russian repairmen" story of all time. Sure, puncturing the hull of the ISS would be catastrophic and destroy the station and kill everyone onboard, but why not try it? Ah, don't worry, my American friend: we will use a drill stop! Certainly, this $5 part will stop us all from dying horrible deaths in the merciless vacuum.

What's that? NASA wants to know why we're using a drill? As in, how will drilling holes in the hull of the PrK stop the air from leaking out? Sorry NASA: apparently, that's classified or something, because we at Roscosmos aren't going to tell you. Just trust us! This sounds like a trustworthy plan from trustworthy people, right?

Yeah, so NASA didn't buy any of that. After begging Roscosmos not to do this, the agency then threatened to sound the evacuation alarm. That appeared to get the Russian cosmonauts to stand down... only for them to return with a saw. They apparently wanted to slice their way through a load-bearing bracket. The saw was the last straw, and NASA ordered their people into the Dragon capsule.

This very public display of discontent, picked up by news outlets around the world, appears to have gotten the Russians to back off completely. Russia now plans to decommission the PrK tunnel altogether and will no longer send cosmonauts into it. This means that the attached dock can't be used to transfer cargo anymore, although it can transfer fluids through pipes. The main thing here is that the PrK will never be pressurized again, so the risk of explosion is gone.

Whew! Glad that's resolved. Oh, wait.

Here's the thing: the marriage of NASA and Roscosmos via the ISS may be getting extended. The station is an elderly thing, and it needs to be put out to pasture soon. But that date keeps shifting forwards: its operating life was extended to 2030 in the Biden administration, and now the in-progress NASA Authorization Act of 2026 would extend it again to 2032. Among other things, this delays the divorce between the Americans and the Russians. Given how strained that relationship is, that may not be a good thing. Especially if the Russians try any home repairs in the next few years. Which, given the age of the station, is actually pretty likely.

Even worse for the poor Russian cosmonauts is that they aren't planning to retire their half of the station at all! Whereas America's plan for future space stations involves turning to the private sector to build multiple, less capable, but cheaper versions, Russia's plan is just to keep on using their half of the ISS. That plan included the PrK tunnel. Will that change now? For that matter, how safe will any of that be in the next decade or two? Asking for a cosmonaut.