NASA briefly directed five of the seven crew members aboard the International Space Station to wait inside the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon "Freedom" spacecraft after new concerns over cracks in a Russian transfer tunnel.
NASA then told the crew members they were comfortable with backing out of the safe haven configuration and returning to normal operations after Roscosmos paused repair efforts and decided to take measurements and assess data.
"We look forward to working with Roscosmos on a collaborative approach to address the leaks," NASA said.
Cracks in the transfer tunnel of the aging space station have been causing leaks since 2019.
The cracks have been the source of a small air leak that has persisted on and off for the last six years or so, and the leak is considered a top safety risk; there have been several attempts over the years to repair the cracks.
Friday's effort came after Roscosmos noticed a slow pressure drop in the transfer tunnel last month following the arrival of a Russian cargo ship.
NASA said it and Roscosmos have been trying to determine the cause while the Russian space agency addresses the issue through "operational mitigation measures and periodic partial-repair efforts."
After new leaks appeared, NASA initially said Roscosmos decided to move forward with a more extensive repair operation Friday before the Russians decided only to perform measurements.