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Crew Traces Space-Station Leak to Flex Hose in U.S. Lab

Posted on: Tuesday, 13 January 2004, 06:00 CST

Jan. 13--The crew of the international space station appears to have found and stopped the source of a mysterious air leak, NASA said Monday.

American commander Mike Foale and Russian flight engineer Alexander Kaleri found the leak in a flex hose in the station's U.S. Destiny science laboratory module, said space agency spokeswoman Kylie Moritz.

The hose is used to vent condensation into space that forms between two layers of a laboratory window.

The hose was removed and the opening capped until a replacement can be sent to the outpost aboard a Russian Progress cargo capsule later this month or a Soyuz crew capsule in late April.

Foale and Kaleri were informed of the leak by NASA's Mission Control on Jan. 5, after experts examined air pressure readings aboard the 240-mile high orbital base.

The air loss started on Dec. 22. The rate fluctuated, reaching about 2.6 pounds per day, then trailed off last week to half that amount.

Mission managers said the station was equipped with enough air tanks to cope with the leak for about six months.

Over the weekend, Foale and Kaleri began a systematic isolation of the station's compartments in an effort to narrow down the source.

The two men identified the source on Sunday using an ultrasound device that allowed them to hear a hissing sound, said Moritz.

The station's air pressure level has stabilized since the leaky hose was removed.

Though it appears the loss has been stopped, Foale and Kaleri will continue the process of isolating other compartments later this week in case there are additional small leaks.

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