Posted on 09/03/2020 4:20:58 AM PDT by MtnClimber
A tiny bit of air always leaks from the International Space Station — but not quite as much as is leaking now.
Officials first noticed a leak last September, but they didn't do anything about it for nearly a year, since the leak wasn't major. Plus, station operations like space walks and crew exchanges kept crew members too busy to collect enough data about the issue.
Recently, however, technicians detected an increase to the already elevated leak rate. So NASA announced on August 20 that the three men aboard the station — NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner — would begin a hunt for the source.
That search is "taking longer than expected," NASA spokesman Daniel Huot told Business Insider last week.
Indeed, Huot said on Tuesday that technical teams were still reviewing the data collected by the crew. They've now ruled out most of the station's modules, Huot added, and should complete their review "in the coming days."
If specialists still can't pinpoint the leak after that, he said, they'll need a new action plan.
'No concern for crew or vehicle safety'
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
I can’t breathe!
A classic from the onion Mir scientists study the effects of weightlessness on mortal terror https://www.theonion.com/mir-scientists-study-effects-of-weightlessness-on-morta-1819564368
Light up a cigar and and have another astronaut float around outside and see the smoke blow out.
A leak? Does that mean Shifty-Shiff-less is on board?
I wonder if they have accidently discovered reverse farts. I have thought this was a thing when, in high school, I found myself in the same back seat as the hottest cheerleader in the school. Not only did I go into fart-suppression mode, I tried to suck in surrounding air just in case.
Have they checked Adam Schiff’s office?
Jiggle the handle.
LOL. Were you looking like the Michillan man?
Adam Schiff?
I wonder if a giant truck tire patch is in their tool kits??
hehe...I was thinking use a vaping thing...but the exact same idea.
Some CO2 might work too, but you would have to have an idea where it might be located first. Or some other harmless gas with a bit of coloring in it. Ozone or Argon maybe? But again, you’d have to have a clue where to look. Both are basically harmless in small amounts. Argon is used in TIG and wire welding.
They are over thinking it. Some dish soap in warm water and sponge it on the outside of the station not already checked. Just look for the bubbles.
Not exactly a small area to check.
The living and working space in the station is larger than
a six-bedroom house (and has six sleeping quarters, two
bathrooms, a gym, and a 360-degree view bay window).
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/facts-and-figures
In case anyone ever wonder........
What happens to poop in space?
Say hello to your new luxury toilet on the International
Space Station. Solid waste is collected in a canister as part
of the waste hygiene component of the space station’s toilet,
and those canisters are disposed of during destructive reentry
of cargo spacecraft.Jul 27, 2019
I forgot the /joke tag. The water would vaporize or maybe freeze before you got outside with the bucket. :o)
Yes but I learned something or at least refreshed my brain.
The A/C industry regularly uses small non-toxic smoke candles to track air leaks and airflow.
Don’s see what the problem is.
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