Leak on International Space Station has NASA worried – National & International News – MON 18Nov2024

International Space Station has sprung a leak.

Biden approves long-range missile use by Ukraine; Russia warns of WWIII.

NATIONAL NEWS

International Space Station has sprung a leak

NASA officials are concerned for the safety of crew on the International Space Station due to a slow leak that is bleeding air into space. The ISS must maintain air pressure and sufficient oxygen to make life in space possible. 

The space station is divided into separate but connected sections occupied by American astronauts on one side and Russian cosmonauts on the other. The leak, which was first identified in 2019, happens to be on the Russian side. The Russians have done their best to address problem areas as they arise. However, this year the rate of leakage has accelerated significantly. 

NASA officials are concerned about the possibility of a “catastrophic failure” that could endanger everyone on board the ISS. If a sudden massive structural failure or rupture occurs, it could result in an explosive decompression, which could be fatal to everyone aboard. The Russians do not seem convinced that NASA’s concerns are realistic. 

“The Russians believe that continued operations are safe, but they can’t prove that to our satisfaction,” says former astronaut Bob Cabana, who chairs NASA’s ISS advisory committee. “And the US believes that it’s not safe, but we can’t prove that to the Russians’ satisfaction”. 

For the time being, the astronauts and cosmonauts are taking precautions. This means keeping the affected area sealed off, except when supply and cruise ships are docking on that side of the module. During docking and undocking, the hatch that separates the US and Russian portions of the station is sealed.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Biden approves long-range missile use by Ukraine, Russia warns of WWIII

Yesterday, the Biden administration confirmed that it had lifted restrictions on Ukraine using long-range missiles to strike within Russian territory. Biden has been teasing this possibility for some time now, saying back in September that he was “working on it” without issuing a timeline. It was speculated at the time that Biden would wait until after the election to lift these restrictions, and that has proven to be the case.

Part of the reason for waiting was due to fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin would see this as a green light to further escalate his attacks on Ukraine. This has also proven to be the case. 

Today, a Putin-aligned lawmaker characterized Biden’s decision as “a very big step toward the beginning of the third world war“. This echoes months of warnings that the Kremlin would consider such an authorization to be a declaration of war on Russia by Ukraine’s Western allies and would respond accordingly.  Putin has warned that if the US took such an action, Russia could arm enemies of the United States to attack US interests.

Zelensky: War must end by diplomatic means

Biden’s long anticipated announcement came just one day after Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky made an unusually conciliatory statement. “We must do everything we can to ensure that this war ends next year, ” Zelensky said, in a Ukrainian radio interview. “We have to end it by diplomatic means. And this, I think, is very important”. 

Zelensky acknowledged that time was running out since president-elect Donald Trump has vowed to push for a negotiated settlement as soon as he takes office next year. Zelensky clarified that the war would end “sooner” than it otherwise would have. 

After the White House announced its change of policy yesterday, Zelensky shifted back to a more warlike posture, saying that the “missiles will speak for themselves“.

Some analysts believe that the Biden administration’s move could pressure Ukraine’s other allies to lift restrictions, and potentially give Ukraine more leverage in future negotiations. Others believe the shift in policy is “too little, too late” to change the reality on the battlefield. “It is unlikely that a few dozen of these flung into some tactical positions are going to tip anything,” said Frank Ledwidge, a former British military intelligence officer and lecturer in war studies at the University of Portsmouth. “This is sort of a last hurrah from the Biden administration, perhaps even a vindictive one.”

Land for peace? 

Putin has insisted he only will end the war if Kyiv surrenders territories occupied by Russia. Currently, Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine’s territory. Crimea and parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts have been under Russian control since 2014. Since 2022, Russia has also seized control of the coastal oblasts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. For the past two years, they have also been making considerable headway in the territory of Kharkiv. 

It is not clear whether Putin would demand the surrender of all these territories in exchange for peace. In the early 2022 peace talks, Russia seemed content to settle for the territories it has controlled since 2014. However, Zelensky has repeatedly rejected the idea of ceding any territory to Moscow.

Related: Sweden and Finland issue booklets to citizens on surviving war.