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Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

bbc.com

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Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#101

Post by [deleted] »

MrPouig wrote: post #34
gwbas1c wrote: post #16

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?

If things go wrong, they're already in the vehicle supposed to bring them back. It might be upsetting to be 3 locked doors away from your best way to come back home

[deleted]

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#103

Post by QuotedForTruth »

Magi604 wrote: post #84

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?

There are of course potential failures, but not quite as violent as oceans gate. There is 1 atm of pressure difference between the inside and outside of the ISS. At titanic depths the pressure difference between inside and outside of the submarine was approximately 400 atm.

Thats why the ISS can have small leaks like this that are a problem but not catastrophic like they would be in a deep sea submarine.

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#106

Post by adaml_623 »

ordu wrote: post #64

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.

Cardboard's out. No cardboard derivatives.

Paper?

No Paper. No string. No sellotape.

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#107

Post by plopz »

Magi604 wrote: post #84

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?

Zvezda has been leaking since 2019. That doesn't seem sudden and without warning to me. I imagine its going to continue to leak until the ISS is decommissioned.

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#108

Post by dylan604 »

justinator wrote: post #98
setopt wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about glue?

Bubble gum? Like do they chew space bubble gum that they could then smoosh in the holes? In college, we'd use toothpaste for the holes left from nails in the walls we hung up our posters with.

Isn't the main problem finding the hole and not what should be used to fill the hole?

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#109

Post by dylan604 »

switchbak wrote: post #100
numpad0 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah, why can't they just make astronauts wear goggles, then stop the fans, and tell them to squirt some superglue in the air to let it clog the hole?

Oh come on you can't be serious. Clearly this needs some JB-Weld :P

Flex Seal would be my suggestion. It works as seen on TV

Re: Astronauts told to return to ISS after sheltering over air leak repairs

#110

Post by Lalabadie »

echoangle wrote: post #73
ordu wrote: post #64

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.

Some problems i can see with that: It might be hard to access the actual pressure hull from the inside (there's probably insulation and padding on top) If you use paint, you somehow have to get rid of the solvent in it when it dries, which might be a problem when painting a whole module

Air filtration is one of the hardest things do deal with in space.

I don't know what solvents would do, but I remember that astronauts' bone density loss in space means there are challenges around managing the significant amount of calcium captured by the air scrubbers in the ISS.

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