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

Post by gmueckl » Fri, Jun 05, 2026, 5:23 PM UTC

rconti wrote: post #124

> 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 stil…

Post by ssl-3 » Fri, Jun 05, 2026, 5:25 PM UTC

rafram wrote: post #119

sixhobbits wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some style guides distinguish between an acronym (Nasa, say the word as it's written) and initialism (ISS, say each letter)

Yes, including the BBC’s: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsstyleguide/all#:~:text=our%20style...

Post by JTbane » Fri, Jun 05, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC

setopt wrote: post #92

malfist wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For every complex, difficult and hard problem, there is a simple, easy and wrong solution. Paint obviously is not the right tool for making seals air tight.

How about glue?

Post by PaulHoule » Fri, Jun 05, 2026, 5:35 PM UTC

Lalabadie wrote: post #110

echoangle wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Post by alpinisme » Fri, Jun 05, 2026, 5:38 PM UTC

nomel wrote: post #122

hgoel wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you mean on the outside, paints that apply well in vacuum and microgravity probably need to be developed and tested first. If you mean on the inside, it'd be a lot of time and disruption to devote to maintenance on a station that's already having to spend an increasing amount of time on maintenance instead of science. The modules have a lot of stuff that has been wired between them over the years, all that would n…

> well in vacuum and microgravity probably Wouldn't all paint works well in microgravity? If it didn't, I would think you wouldn't be able to apply it to your floor, walls, and ceiling, with the same paint.