Bad headline from the Guardian on this one.
There’s a big difference between evacuation readiness and evacuation.
There was a sudden, but not catastrophic increase in air loss from 1 pound per day to 2 pounds per day. Until the source of the loss increase is found, NASA doesn’t know if this is new damage such as from a micrometioroid impact or if existing damage is growing. Like a leaking dam, damage in weakened metal can grow rapidly without warning. So the astronauts not involved in the repair efforts are ordered to be ready for evacuation if the situation starts worsening rapidly.
I personally expect the source of the leak to be found and repaired without evacuation.
EDIT: the leaks have been identified and repairs are underway. NASA has ordered the astronauts back to normal operations. This is yet another of “abundance of caution” measures being sensationalized by media.
Kud-Sverchkov and Mikayev, who did not execute evacuation procedures, were planning to use a saw to break into an area where they believe they can access the crack leaking air, the NASA official said. NASA officials disagreed with this method, the NASA official said, prompting mission control in Houston to order safe-haven procedures.
Yeah I don’t think “oh fuck get in the shuttle” is an unreasonable response here.
