A small leak of ammonia has been detected at the US segment of the International Space Station (ISS), Roscosmos confirmed to Sputnik, adding that the incident poses no threat to crew members.

Ammonia is used in transferring heat from the US segment on the ISS to space. Moderate levels of ammonia are not so dangerous, but exposure to high concentrations of it can be a health hazard.

"Experts have registered an ammonia leak outside the US segment of the ISS. We are speaking about the leak with the speed of some 700 grams [1.5 pounds] per year. But there is no threat to the ISS crew", the source said.

It also indicated that a similar situation occurred in 2017, but the leak was eliminated before the astronauts went into open space.

Currently, Russia cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Wagner, and NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy are working at the ISS.

Source: RIA Novosti

Related Links
Roscosmos
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Tweet

ISS may need to evade US Military cubesat
Moscow (Sputnik) Sep 14, 2020
The ISS underwent a Debris Avoidance Manoeuvre (DAM) this July after a threat of colliding with the remains of a Soviet-era satellite emerged. A DAM is not something out of the ordinary for the station, unlike partial evacuations, which have been performed five times to date, and are used when it is thought to be too late to avoid a collision. Russian Space Agency Roscosmos has warned that the International Space Station (ISS) has a high chance of colliding with the low-orbit US military satellite ... read more