A small meteor shower may have caused a sudden leak this week on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft attached to the International Space Station. As a result, two Russian cosmonauts had to cancel their planned spacewalk at the last minute on Wednesday night.
The NASA image above shows coolant leaking from the spacecraft. The spacewalk was canceled as a precaution, but the US space agency stressed that everyone aboard the ISS was “safe”. Meanwhile, the consequences for the Russian spacecraft are being investigated on Earth.
Tonight’s spacewalk with cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin is on hold as mission controllers evaluate flakes seen spewing from the Soyuz MS-22 crew vessel. pic.twitter.com/jC5X1oaEDh
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) December 15, 2022
sand grains
Former cosmonaut and now head of the Russian company Roscosmos’ space program Sergei Krikalyov told state news agency TASS that the leak was likely caused by small meteorites. They could have been as small as grains of sand. The consequence of the damage is that the temperature on board could change, according to Krikalyov. NASA says the temperature in the Russian spacecraft is still within limits, without going into further details.
“That’s a whopping speed of over 100,000 kilometers per hour. This has the impact of a rifle bullet or even more,’ says space expert Rob van den Berg of the Sonnenbergh observatory. “Those spacesuits are ruggedized to stop the smallest micrometeorites, but there are grains of sand in them and at those speeds almost nothing can resist.”
Emergency plans
The detected leak immediately raises the question of whether the Russian spacecraft will be able to return the crew of three to Earth in March next year, as planned. If that fails, NASA and Roscosmos have contingency plans in place. Despite the war in Ukraine, Russia and the United States continue to cooperate in space.
Homecoming
“They’re safe, so they don’t have to go home right away. But if their ‘lifeboat’ has a leak, you’ll have to send another lifeboat,” Van den Berg says. “At this point, we’re lucky that SpaceX’s Dragon capsule can also dock and carry astronauts. a slightly larger capacity, four people can be on board and it can fly fully automatically, so if this Soyuz can’t be used, there will need to be something else to ensure these astronauts can go home.’
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
