Holes patched in Russian segment of the ISS though pesky pressure loss continues

Bad news for astronauts and cosmonauts alike: The International Space Station (ISS) is continuing to lose pressure after Russian attempts to patch cracks in the outpost's hole have failed to stem leaks. Leaks in the Zvezda service module of the Russian segment of the ISS have plagued the laboratory over the last year. One leak …

[Paul Hovnanian]

Time to start bailing

Throw buckets of vacuum overboard.

[Paul Herber]

Re: Time to start bailing

There's a hole in the bucket!

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: Time to start bailing

Of course there’s a hole in your bucket. It’s the one at the top to let the vacuum in and out...

[garretmh]

Re: Time to start bailing

Technically, that’s not a hole because it doesn’t go all the way through.

[Little Mouse]

Happy to help

My toolbox is full of self-adhesive patches accumulated from assorted air-beds, tents, etc over the years. I'd be happy to donate them to get this problem sorted.

I've also got a few bent-bits-of-metal-with-sticky-out-bits-and-holes-in-that-I-don't-know-what-they're-for-but-will-probably-come-in-handy-one-day that they're welcome to, if that'd help.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Happy to help

>My toolbox is full of self-adhesive patches accumulated from assorted air-beds, tents,

Tricky bit is finding a large enough bucket of water to put it in to see the bubbles

[Martin Gregorie]

Re: Happy to help

No need for a big water bath - just send space walkers out to spray the outside of ZVEZDA module with a latex-based coating then do another spacewalk a few days later to spot the bubble(s). Just be careful to mask off the viewports before spraying the module if you'd like a nice, clear outside view after the leaks have been found.

This approach should suit the Russians just fine - they like simple, robust solutions to problems. For confirmation of this, check out the story of the Salyut 7 revival after it lost attitude control and all solar power. The full story is here:

http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/09/the-little-known-soviet-mission-to-rescue-a-dead-space-station/

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Happy to help

Surely specialist help is required here. I would suggest involving Air Force Major Abacha Tunde to find and eliminate the crack.

[batfink]

Re: Happy to help

I'm sure I heard that Major Tunde found refuge in the swastika-shaped base on the far side of the moon. He may not be available to help.

[Headley_Grange]

Egg on their faces

Can't they just crack an egg and wait til it leaks out and seals the hole? It used to work on my motorbike radiator.

[Jim Mitchell]

They just need to use this product: https://aeroseal.com/aerobarrier/

Should naturally find and seal the holes! Of course, it would leave an atmosphere full of aerosolized caulk, but they describe it as "non-toxic"...

[colin79666]

Gaffer tape. Fixes everything.

[Martin Gregorie]

Haven't they used that once already? On the drill hole?

[Anonymous Coward]

Shoddy Russian product?

I expect the Russian module was made in an old ex-Moskvitch or Lada factory.

[TRT]

Re: Shoddy Russian product?

Russian components, American components. All made in Taiwan.

[lotus123]

Re: Shoddy Russian product?

This is one classy way to describe human achievements.

[John Jennings]

The iss is old.

In space, noone can check your seam

Give the inside a coat of magnolia vynal silk. Well thickened - add a bit of wallpaper paste. Covers all landlord botches.

Zavesta module (as well as the central core of the ISS) is also the core environmental unit - provides air and water recycling. It also has 3 or 4 of all the docking ports.

It does have a lot of windows (20 or so) - I imagine that the thermal cycling tensions of the ISS must be immense - the skin changes temperature by 200 dec c every 90 minutes or so. that is a lot of cycles in 30 years...

[Wim Ton]

If the cracks exceed a "critical crack length" they can grow explosively. Proper pressure vessel design ensures "leak before break", as an early warning mechanism.

[DoctorPaul]

Praying that the ISS doesn't do a Comet (as in the airliner), don't like the idea of cracks due to fatigue!