I found this interesting: NASA RELL (Robotic External Leak Detector) [1].
"NASA’s Robotic External Leak Locator (RELL) is a robotic, remote-controlled tool that helps mission operators detect the location of an external leak and rapidly confirm a successful repair.
… Two instruments working in sync give RELL its ammonia-detecting superpowers. … Mass spectrometer & Ion vacuum pressure gauge"
> After multiple inspections and sealant applications, Nasa reported in January that pressure readings suggested a stable configuration had been reached - though there remained uncertainty about whether the leak had truly been sealed or whether air was simply escaping elsewhere.
I'm clearly not understanding what they're trying to say here. If _one_ leak was sealed, but the air was "escaping elsewhere", it would still be a leak, causing pressure readings to drop.
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gwbas1c
Maybe someone who knows more about the ISS than I do can answer this:
Naively, I would assume that there are airlocks between the different sections of the ISS. I would also assume that they would close these airlocks while doing the kind of work they are doing to repair the leaks.
So, assuming I'm right (and my assumptions might be wrong,) why do the astronauts need to shelter?
show comments
varjag
Nasa said the segment had suffered from cracks and leaks
I expected better from the BBC.
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ordu
Can't they just get things out of the module and paint it fresh? Maybe with some special paint, or with several layers of a paint?
Obviously they can't, it looks like an obvious solution they couldn't have missed. But I wonder why it is impossible to do.
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BobbyTables2
They should keep some FlexSeal up there !
cucumber3732842
Super thin margin stuff like space flight only "works" because they cross their Ts and dot their Is. There's probably no danger here, the repairs will probably go fine and be uneventful, but you gotta treat every situation like it's the real deal because otherwise it'll get you when it does happen.
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ck2
Do they have things like Oxygen Candles or can those not be used in space?
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Markoff
it was already cancelled and they can return back to normal operations
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SoftTalker
Imagine something like this happening halfway to Mars and zero chance of escaping, getting any help or parts sent to you.
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Magi604
Is this another potential OceanGate scenario (SpaceGate?), where one day the ISS just blasts apart suddenly and without warning and the occupants are ejected into the vacuum of space?
show comments
js2
As of 11 minutes ago, the headline is now the opposite of that submitted:
> Astronauts told to return to International Space Station after sheltering over air leak repairs.
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blastro
is this a play for the space x ipo? we need a new iss?
How the air leaks there, from whom side is the problem is, from astronauts side's or the company's?
jmount
I have to say worrying about the provenance of writing has made me a grumpier reader.
For example: "The space station is made up of Russian and US segments, and there are modules from the European and Japanese space agencies too." It feels like this sentence is inserting some points, but is lacking in authorial intent. Is the intent to say the station is largely Russian and US, or to say the station has more than two partners? Probably an okay sentence, but still feels like a stone in the shoe.
show comments
kaicianflone
I don’t have a dog in the fight but it’s super scary to think about for the astronauts and their families. This issue’s been going on for a while now. Surprised that there’s not more AI or robotics that could be utilized for such cases.
Rumors are that Elon gets spaceX to buy tesla so tele-operated Optimus robots do the hard space work from now on. Not a bad idea per se but I’m not educated on the topic. Curiosity has me asking if we really want humans to go to mars or in space at all.
I found this interesting: NASA RELL (Robotic External Leak Detector) [1].
[1] (PDF fact sheet from NASA) https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/rell-factshe...> After multiple inspections and sealant applications, Nasa reported in January that pressure readings suggested a stable configuration had been reached - though there remained uncertainty about whether the leak had truly been sealed or whether air was simply escaping elsewhere.
I'm clearly not understanding what they're trying to say here. If _one_ leak was sealed, but the air was "escaping elsewhere", it would still be a leak, causing pressure readings to drop.
Maybe someone who knows more about the ISS than I do can answer this:
Naively, I would assume that there are airlocks between the different sections of the ISS. I would also assume that they would close these airlocks while doing the kind of work they are doing to repair the leaks.
So, assuming I'm right (and my assumptions might be wrong,) why do the astronauts need to shelter?
Nasa said the segment had suffered from cracks and leaks
I expected better from the BBC.
Can't they just get things out of the module and paint it fresh? Maybe with some special paint, or with several layers of a paint?
Obviously they can't, it looks like an obvious solution they couldn't have missed. But I wonder why it is impossible to do.
They should keep some FlexSeal up there !
Super thin margin stuff like space flight only "works" because they cross their Ts and dot their Is. There's probably no danger here, the repairs will probably go fine and be uneventful, but you gotta treat every situation like it's the real deal because otherwise it'll get you when it does happen.
Do they have things like Oxygen Candles or can those not be used in space?
it was already cancelled and they can return back to normal operations
Imagine something like this happening halfway to Mars and zero chance of escaping, getting any help or parts sent to you.
Is this another potential OceanGate scenario (SpaceGate?), where one day the ISS just blasts apart suddenly and without warning and the occupants are ejected into the vacuum of space?
As of 11 minutes ago, the headline is now the opposite of that submitted:
> Astronauts told to return to International Space Station after sheltering over air leak repairs.
is this a play for the space x ipo? we need a new iss?
Dupe
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48413273
How the air leaks there, from whom side is the problem is, from astronauts side's or the company's?
I have to say worrying about the provenance of writing has made me a grumpier reader.
For example: "The space station is made up of Russian and US segments, and there are modules from the European and Japanese space agencies too." It feels like this sentence is inserting some points, but is lacking in authorial intent. Is the intent to say the station is largely Russian and US, or to say the station has more than two partners? Probably an okay sentence, but still feels like a stone in the shoe.
I don’t have a dog in the fight but it’s super scary to think about for the astronauts and their families. This issue’s been going on for a while now. Surprised that there’s not more AI or robotics that could be utilized for such cases.
Rumors are that Elon gets spaceX to buy tesla so tele-operated Optimus robots do the hard space work from now on. Not a bad idea per se but I’m not educated on the topic. Curiosity has me asking if we really want humans to go to mars or in space at all.