Space Station Leak Traced to a Hose on the U.S. Side

A leaky hose on the American side of the international space station seems to be the source of the slow drop in cabin pressure over the last three weeks, NASA said Monday.

If the hose is confirmed as the culprit, a spare will be sent up on a Russian spacecraft as early as the end of the month, the space agency said.

The air leak began just before Christmas, and NASA has said that it was so small it never endangered the crew or space station operations.

Astronaut Michael Foale and cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri discovered the leaky hose Sunday using a hand-held ultrasound leak detector in the American-made laboratory.

They did not find anything wrong in a check of the area last week, but this time they briefly turned off the scientific equipment and heard the hiss of escaping air.

“They’re hesitant to be overly confident, but everything at this point looks like it was the culprit,” said NASA spokesman James Hartsfield.

The hose is used to prevent a window on the space station from fogging up. It takes condensation that forms between the panes of glass and vents it into space.

Foale removed the short length of hose and capped off the two ends to which it was connected.

Removing the hose poses no threat to the crew, NASA said. But the spacemen were advised to close the shutters to keep the window temperature constant and reduce the likelihood of condensation.