U.S. astronauts evacuated to Russian section of ISS after pressure increase

Astronauts were evacuated as a “precautionary measure” from the U.S. section of the International Space Station into the Russian section after a “coolant loop pressure increase,” NASA says. Crew members followed emergency procedures, donning masks until safely in in the Russian section of the space station. NASA also confirmed there was not an ammonia leak, as previously reported, although sensors had alerted the crew of a possible problem.

The safety of the team was preserved thanks to swift actions of the cosmonauts and astronauts themselves and the team on the ground in Moscow and Houston.

Chief of Russian mission control, Maksim Matyushin

Russian news agencies quoted an official at the Russian space agency Roscosmos as saying the situation was now under control and all six crew—three Russians, two Americans and an Italian—were safe in the Russian section of the orbiting station. The $100 billion station, which flies about 250 miles above Earth, is a research laboratory for biomedical, physics, astronomical and other experiments, as well as for technology development and demonstrations.

Science