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The International Space Station Is Falling Apart, and It’s Hilariously Terrifying
If you think your old car has problems, well, let me introduce you to the ISS. This 24-year-old floating chunk of human ingenuity has more leaks than a teenager’s secret diary. But never mind, our favorite space home is holding itself together with, I kid you not, literal sealant and patches. Yes, folks, it’s like a space-age version of duct taping your water pipes-which might just actually be what’s going on up there.
So, what’s going on? Well, for one thing, a pesky leak in the Russian Zvezda module has been, well, leaking since 2019. Yes, that’s right. The most wakeful like hiss in the background, a slow and steady hiss, has been there for more than five years on what was supposed to be one of humanity’s greatest technological triumphs-the space station. Just imagine trying to go to sleep and hearing a faint but consistent pssssssst reminding you of your impending doom-a fun little bedtime lullaby in space!
Finally, NASA and Roscosmos-the Russian space agency-have had just about enough. They’ve identified 50 “areas of concern” on the ISS, which feels a great deal like an understated euphemism for “50 reasons why this thing might fall apart any second.” In the interest of repairing the most obvious leak, they’ve patched it several times. How…
