Russia is investigating the chance {that a} manufacturing defect induced two of its spacecraft to spring coolant leaks in a two-month span not too long ago.
On Dec. 14, 2022, a Soyuz crew-carrying spacecraft docked on the International Space Station (ISS) misplaced all of its coolant to space, a difficulty that Russian officers quickly attributed to a probable micrometeoroid strike.
Then, on Feb. 11, a robotic Progress freighter on the ISS sprang a leak of its own . Roscosmos has tied that issue to an “external influence,” (opens in new tab) presumably an issue incurred in the course of the cargo craft’s October 2022 launch. However that is removed from a remaining verdict. Certainly, the back-to-back incidents have prompted Russia’s space company Roscosmos to take a more in-depth have a look at the nation’s spacecraft manufacturing processes, in accordance with Joel Montalbano, NASA’s ISS program supervisor.
Associated: Hole in leaky Soyuz spacecraft not caused by Geminid meteor
A picture shared on Telegram by the Russian space company Roscosmos exhibiting the situation of a coolant leak and reported meteoroid strike on the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft. (Picture credit score: Roscosmos through Telegram)
“Along with MMOD — micrometeoroid orbital particles — the group and Roscosmos and Energia, they’re taking a look at manufacturing,” Montalbano mentioned on Saturday evening, throughout a press convention that mentioned the profitable return to Earth of SpaceX’s Crew-5 astronaut mission just a few hours earlier. (Energia is the chief contractor for Russia’s human spaceflight program; the corporate builds each the Soyuz and the Progress.)
“Is there one thing there? Did one thing change within the manufacturing of those automobiles?” he added. “Which is strictly what we might do on our aspect, proper? You have a look at all the information you will have, have a look at the whole lot.”
Roscosmos deemed the leaky Soyuz, often known as MS-22, unfit to hold its three crewmembers — NASA’s Frank Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin — house to Earth, besides within the case of an emergency evacuation of the ISS. So, final month, Russia launched a replacement Soyuz , MS-23, to the orbiting lab for the three spaceflyers.
Montalbano mentioned NASA is assured within the new Soyuz, however the company will preserve its eyes open for any new developments.
“Confidence is sweet, however we’re all the time wanting,” he mentioned. “, that is what we do greatest within the space program. And that is executed on each the Roscosmos aspect in addition to the NASA aspect.”
Associated: Russia releases 1st images of damage to leaky Soyuz spacecraft (photos)
Soyuz MS-22 carried Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin to the ISS in September 2022. The trio had been presupposed to return to Earth this month, however the leak drama has pushed their homecoming again to September.
That journey can be made aboard Soyuz MS-23. MS-22, in the meantime, is scheduled to land later this month, in an uncrewed state. Sadly, the piece of the spacecraft the place the leak occurred will break up throughout reentry to Earth’s atmosphere , Montalbano mentioned, so engineers will not get to look at the broken {hardware} up shut.
The identical is true of the leaky Progress : The freighter left the ISS final month and met its fiery finish in our planet’s thick air. (Progress automobiles are expendable; they don’t seem to be designed to outlive reentry.)
Mike Wall is the creator of “ Out There (opens in new tab) ” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a guide concerning the seek for alien life. Comply with him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab) . Comply with us @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) , Facebook (opens in new tab) and Instagram (opens in new tab) .
