ISS leaks push Axiom Mission 4 launch to no earlier than June 19

NASA has pushed back the launch of Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station (ISS), citing concerns over persistent leaks aboard the aging orbital outpost. A new No Earlier Than (NET) date is set for June 19. Concerns over ISS leaks have been mounting for some time. The orbiting laboratory is getting long in the tooth …

[IGotOut]

Hmmm

"As long as Russia is willing to forego that docking port."

People far better than me on this, but aren't the Russian docking ports completely different to US / European docks?

[Tom Chiverton 1]

Re: Hmmm

They inter-op, just like missile sub crew escape hatches.

[Gene Cash]

Mental picture

I have a mental image of the airlock hissing like a bad toilet flapper, and the cosmonaut jiggling the airlock handle...

[Persona]

It's old!

It's hardly surprising it's failing. The Zvezda module was built in 1985-1986 and intended to be part of the MIR 2 space station. It was conceived to have a 3 year life in orbit though this was extended to a 5 year design life before it was launched. Next month the module will have been in orbit for 25 years.

To give IT context the Intel 80386 was introduced in 1985-86, though the MIR 2 project was initiated so design work probably started in 1976 which was of course the year the Z80 CPU was introduced. It's old!

[bombastic bob]

Anyone got a can of "fix-a-flat"?

maybe use something like this on the inside walls, or slap a giant condom over the outside surface of the affected modules

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: Anyone got a can of "fix-a-flat"?

bombastic bob,

Unless there's a Japanese company making condoms in Godzilla size, I think you might be out of luck...

[Ken Shabby]

Re: Anyone got a bottle of mind bleach?

That is an image I don’t need.

[Greybearded old scrote]

Don't de-orbit

Such a significant piece of history deserves preservation. Boost it to a higher orbit.

[Spherical Cow]

Re: Don't de-orbit

The ISS certainly does have amazing heritage value, however that needs to be weighed against the cost of raising it to a higher orbit, and also weighed against the collision risk to other satellites.