Coolant leaked from a backup line at the International Space Station, according to Russian officials. The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, stated that the coolant leak occurred from an external backup radiator for Russia's new science lab. However, they emphasized that the main thermal control system for the lab was functioning normally and there was no immediate threat to the crew or the outpost.

RUSSIAN MODULE ON INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SUFFERS COOLANT LEAK, ASTRONAUTS "ARE NOT IN DANGER" -ROSCOSMOS STATEMENT

— First Squawk (@FirstSquawk) October 9, 2023

NASA also confirmed that the leak posed no danger to the station's seven crew members and that operations were continuing as usual. Engineers from Roscosmos are currently investigating the cause of the leak, which follows previous coolant leaks from Russian spacecraft at the station. These previous leaks were attributed to impacts from tiny meteoroids rather than manufacturing defects. The lab, named Nauku, meaning science, arrived at the space station in July 2021. It has been a symbol of international cooperation since the end of the Cold War and is now one of the few areas of collaboration between Russia and the West amidst tensions surrounding Russia's military actions in Ukraine. NASA and its partners hope to continue using the space station until 2030.

It is worth noting that previous coolant leaks resulted in extended stays for astronauts. Last December, a leak from a Soyuz crew capsule docked at the station led to NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and his two Russian crewmates, Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, spending 371 days in orbit instead of the planned six months. A replacement capsule was subsequently sent to the station for their return journey. Current residents of the International Space Station include NASA's astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara, the European Space Agency's Andreas Mogensen, Russian cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub, and Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa.