Astronauts sheltered during air leak repair

Astronauts on the International Space Station sheltered in a docked spacecraft. The station had an air leak that got worse on Friday. Five of the seven crew members went into the SpaceX shuttle Dragon Freedom. They put on their spacesuits and prepared to leave. Two Russian cosmonauts stayed behind to fix the leak. They used a saw to try to reach the crack. Nasa ordered the five astronauts to shelter. Later, Nasa told them to return to the station. The air leak started on Monday. It was in a tunnel called PrK. This tunnel is in the Russian part of the station. The leak was not very big. The station always leaks a little air. But this leak was bigger than usual. A retired astronaut named Chris Hadfield said the station leaks about half a pound of air every day. When the leak gets bigger, the crew must act. The cosmonauts planned to fix the leak with a saw. Nasa disagreed with this method. So the cosmonauts stopped. The crew was safe the whole time. The station is very large. It is as long as a football field. People have lived on it since 1998. Many countries work together on the station. The US, Russia, Canada, Japan, and 11 European countries help. The astronauts will continue their work. The leak is not dangerous now.