The threat of air leakage makes the International Space Station "exposed

(Picture from: NASA)

"Oxygen leaks that have lasted for several months may threaten the safety of the International Space Station." Russian "Izvestia" stated on the 11th that since August, the International Space Station has been fighting against the oxygen leak, but it has not been completely resolved. According to reports, the prolonged delay of this issue has cast a shadow over the future of the International Space Station. According to reports, since August, instruments on the International Space Station have recorded significant air leaks, with more than 200 grams of oxygen leaking into space every day. "This degree of leakage means that a small hole with a diameter of about 0.1 mm appeared in the space station. Although this situation is not serious, the oxygen supply of the International Space Station will not seriously threaten the safety of the astronauts, but the problem must also be immediate Solve." But the key is that finding a small hole in the space station that is invisible to the naked eye is not easy. At present, only the initial location of the leak occurred in Russia's "Star" service module, and the astronauts are trying to seal the leak.

RIA Novosti said on the 11th that the Russian Ground Flight Control Center has asked astronauts to use American sealing tape to seal the suspected air leaks in the compartment of the "Star" service module. Russian astronaut Ivan Wagner plugged the two leaks found in the service module on the 9th, but Wagner reported to the control center on the 10th that the leak was still continuing. The International Space Station detected air leaks in September 2019, but it was not until August-September this year that the rate of leaks increased significantly. The astronauts closed the doors of each compartment twice to check the airtightness and hid in the Russian cabin. Avoid a few days in the paragraph. It was later discovered that the leak was roughly located in the Russian "Star" service cabin. Sergei Krikalev, executive director of the Russian Aerospace Group's manned space program, believes that if the astronauts cannot eliminate the leak for a long time, they need to send more air to the space station.

Although the Russian Aerospace Corporation stated that this matter does not pose a threat to the personnel of the International Space Station, nor does it affect the flight of the space station in a manned state. However, the air leakage problem of the International Space Station has made the outside world increasingly worried about its future prospects. "Izvestia" stated that the International Space Station has been in operation since 1998, and its service life has already exceeded the originally scheduled 15 years. According to the current plan, it will be officially decommissioned in 2024. Previously, there have been many suggestions in the international community to extend the operating life of the International Space Station to 2030. "Before the air leakage incident, it seemed that there was no problem to extend its life. But the air leakage incident sounded the alarm for those who proposed to extend the operation of the space station." This shows that the International Space Station is aging and problems may arise at any time. The Trump administration of the United States wanted to stop the funding of the International Space Station in 2024 and change it to a private company, but the outside world is not optimistic about the profitability of the plan.

The current complex Russian-US relations cannot allow the two countries to continue to strengthen cooperation in the field of the International Space Station. It is unlikely that the two countries will jointly build a new space station in the future. At present, it is not realistic to build a new cabin for the International Space Station. The United States hopes to build a lunar orbital station, but Russia has no money to build a new "star" section on its own. At the same time, in the eyes of the international community, the importance of the International Space Station is steadily declining, which makes it more difficult for countries to find funds to build new cabins. The United States is worried that after the International Space Station is decommissioned, China may become the only country in the world with a space station.