NASA, Russia’s space agency probing cause of Soyuz leak | 24CA News
NASA is exploring whether or not SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft can doubtlessly provide an various experience dwelling for some crew members of the International Space Station after a Russian capsule sprang a coolant leak whereas docked to the orbital lab.
NASA and Russia’s area company, Roscosmos, are investigating the reason for a punctured coolant line on an exterior radiator of Russia’s Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, which is meant to return its crew of two cosmonauts and one U.S. astronaut to Earth early subsequent 12 months.
But the Dec. 14 leak, which emptied the Soyuz of a significant fluid used to control crew cabin temperatures, has derailed Russia’s area station routines, with engineers in Moscow inspecting whether or not to launch one other Soyuz to retrieve the three-man workforce that flew to ISS aboard the crippled MS-22 craft.
If Russia can not launch one other Soyuz ship, or decides for some motive that doing so can be too dangerous, NASA is weighing an alternative choice.
“We have asked SpaceX a few questions on their capability to return additional crew members on Dragon, if necessary, but that is not our prime focus at this time,” NASA spokesperson Sandra Jones stated in an announcement to Reuters.
SpaceX didn’t reply to a Reuters request for remark.
It was unclear what NASA particularly requested of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capabilities, akin to whether or not the corporate can discover a means to extend the crew capability of the Dragon at present docked to the station, or launch an empty capsule for the crew’s rescue.
But the corporate’s potential involvement in a mission led by Russia underscores the diploma of precaution NASA is taking to guarantee its astronauts can safely return to Earth, ought to considered one of the opposite contingency plans organized by Russia fall via.
The leaky Soyuz capsule ferried U.S. astronaut Frank Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin to the area station in September for a six-month mission. They have been scheduled to return in March 2023.
The station’s 4 different crew members — two extra from NASA, a 3rd Russian cosmonaut and a Japanese astronaut — arrived in October through a NASA-contracted SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which additionally stays parked on the ISS.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, a gumdrop-shaped pod with 4 astronaut seats, has change into the centerpiece to NASA’s human spaceflight efforts in low-Earth orbit. Besides Russia’s Soyuz program, it’s the solely entity able to ferrying people to the area station and again.
3 potential culprits
Finding what precipitated the leak may issue into choices about one of the best ways to return the crew members. A meteoroid-caused puncture, a strike from a bit of area particles or a {hardware} failure on the Soyuz capsule itself are three potential causes of the leak that NASA and Roscosmos are investigating.
A {hardware} malfunction may increase extra questions for Roscosmos in regards to the integrity of different Soyuz automobiles, akin to the one it would ship for the crew’s rescue, stated Mike Suffredini, who led NASA’s ISS program for a decade till 2015.
“I can assure you that’s something they’re looking at, to see what’s back there and whether there’s a concern for it,” he stated. “The thing about the Russians is they’re really good at not talking about what they’re doing, but they’re very thorough.”
Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov had beforehand stated engineers would determine by Tuesday the best way to return the crew to Earth, however the company stated that day it might make the choice in January.
NASA has beforehand stated the capsule’s temperatures stay “within acceptable limits,” with its crew compartment at present being vented with air circulate allowed via an open hatch to the ISS.
Sergei Krikalev, Russia’s chief of crewed area packages, advised reporters final week that the temperature would rise quickly if the hatch to the station have been closed.
NASA and Roscosmos are primarily specializing in figuring out the leak’s trigger, Jones stated, in addition to the well being of MS-22 which can be meant to function the three-man crew’s lifeboat in case an emergency on the station requires evacuation.
A current meteor bathe initially appeared to lift the percentages of a micrometeoroid strike because the wrongdoer, however the leak was dealing with the mistaken means for that to be the case, NASA’s ISS program supervisor Joel Montalbano advised reporters final week, although an area rock may have come from one other route.
And if a bit of area particles is accountable, it may gas issues of an more and more messy orbital atmosphere and lift questions on whether or not such important gear because the spacecraft’s coolant line ought to have been protected by particles shielding, as different elements of the MS-22 spacecraft are.
“We are not shielded against everything throughout the space station,” Suffredini stated. “We can’t shield against everything.”
