NASA said that the leak had appeared to grow in size overnight Monday to Tuesday and the crew were awakened by flight controllers to carry out a search.
Russia said Tuesday that astronauts had found an air leak in its section of the International Space Station, with a senior space official calling the air loss beyond expected levels.
The crew on the ISS — Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner and NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy — have been searching for the air leak since August, first checking the U.S. segment.
Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, said in a statement that after analysis and a search for the leak “it was established that the spot is located in the Zvezda (star) service module, which contains scientific equipment.”
It said a search was now underfoot to pinpoint the exact location, saying the situation “is not dangerous for the life and health…
