An unexplained coolant leak has occurred on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, and the cause is not yet known.
On Thursday, December 15, two Russian astronauts aboard the ISS were unable to enter space as the ground crew noticed a significant leak of coolant from the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft. The Guardian writes that the leak from the ship docking on the ISS lasted more than 3 hours, and Russian engineers are still looking for the cause of this incident.
in 24News Breaker. Technology emerged telegraph channel. Subscribe so you don’t miss the latest and exciting news from the world of science!
A video released by NASA shows snowflake-shaped particles gushing out from the back of a Soyuz spacecraft. This stream of particles is a coolant leak from the spacecraft’s cooling system. This issue was noticed by the Russian ground crew at 02:45 Kyiv time on 15 December.
The event itself took place before two Russian astronauts, Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, were preparing for a spacewalk on the ISS. This journey outside the orbital station was supposed to take 6 hours and 40 minutes. The astronauts even wore their spacesuits, but controllers on Earth interrupted the spacewalk.
NASA said the observed coolant leak occurred in the outer cooling system of the Soyuz spacecraft. While the exact cause of the leak has yet to be determined, Russian engineers are trying to examine the data and find out what could have caused such a leak.
NASA said in a statement that the version that it is currently cooler is still being discussed at Roscosmos. The Russian team is also trying to understand how dangerous this problem is to the integrity of the Soyuz spacecraft. The leak lasted about 3 hours, according to NASA, but nothing threatens the ISS crew.
According to Emily Nelson of NASA, Roscosmos experts should check all systems on the spacecraft and take the necessary precautions in line with their instructions. Russian experts should study the problem and find out the cause, as well as understand the state of the Soyuz. They should announce their findings as soon as possible.
According to NASA, the spacewalk of the same Russian astronauts had already been canceled at the end of November when a problem with the spacesuit cooling systems was discovered.
The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft delivered Prokopiev, Petelin, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio to the ISS in September of this year. On this ship, three members of the ISS crew should return to Earth in March 2023. In addition, the Soyuz spacecraft is a “lifeboat” for astronauts in orbit in an emergency that requires crew evacuation.
Currently, there are 7 astronauts on the ISS: three Russians, three Americans and a representative of Japan.
It’s worth noting that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft docked with the ISS in October, carrying NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Kassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Russian woman Anna Kikina into orbit.
As already written FocusNASA is preparing to finish the work of the ISS by the end of this decade. Therefore, a replacement for the station is being prepared and will be the Orbital Reef orbital complex. During the testing of the prototype of the residential module of the new station, an explosion occurred, but NASA is satisfied with the result.
Moreover Focus He wrote that the first Japanese lander had flown to the moon and had already taken the first photograph of Earth from space.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.