The ISS Is Leaking Again: Aging Hardware, Russian Segment Cracks, and the Closing Window Before Commercial Space Stations

The International Space Station air leak is not just a scary headline about astronauts in danger. It is a systems warning. The leak sits in the Russian PrK transfer tunnel attached to Zvezda, a small but strategically important passage tied to docking, pressure control, hatch isolation, and the larger countdown toward ISS retirement. NASA and Roscosmos can manage the immediate risk, but the deeper problem is structural: aging orbital infrastructure now has to survive long enough for commercial replacements, deorbit planning, crew rotation, cargo logistics, and international coordination to line up before 2030.