Roscosmos Is Prepared To Send More Oxygen To The ISS As The Atmosphere Leaks

Astronauts on the ISS continue to struggle with an oxygen leak that is venting the breathable atmosphere into space. General director of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, has stated that the oxygen leak is under control. Still, the Russian space organization is prepared to send additional oxygen to the space station in February if needed.

Rogozin was clear in a press conference about the leak that the space station has oxygen reserves. He said the cargo ship being sent to the ISS in February would also have a supply of oxygen. If additional oxygen is needed, part of the cargo intended to be sent aboard the Russian capsule could be delivered later by American spacecraft. That would allow Russia to send additional oxygen in February if required.

The general director assured people that there was no need to worry and that everything was under control aboard the ISS. However, Rogozin did say that the leak was a "wake-up call" and that it was time to consider new structures. The administrator vowed that the problems aboard the ISS would be fixed.

As for what caused the leak, Rogozin suggested that micrometeorites might have impacted the hull. He also believes that the time the station has spent in service is partly to blame. This is not the first leak that's occurred aboard the ISS. One of the Russian cosmonauts aboard the space station believes air may be escaping through the transition chamber.

In October, the ISS crew found an air leak in the Russian Zvezda module's intermediate chamber. The cause of that leak is unknown. The current air leak source is unknown, and a specialist has stated that gas reserves are being lost.