Coolant leaked from Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, Russian cosmonauts unable to go into space

December 15, 2022  16:24

A significant coolant leak has occurred from the Russian Soyuz MS-22 (Soyuz MS-22) spacecraft while parked on the International Space Station, causing two Russian cosmonauts to cancel a planned "walk" in outer space while flight controllers from Earth tried to solve the problem.

According to Space.com, the leak occurred today at 7:45 p.m. EST (04:45 a.m. Yerevan time). Astronauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin of the Russian Federal Space Corporation Roscosmos were scheduled to enter space 1 hour and 40 minutes later, where they were to spend 6 hours and 40 minutes.

The International Space Station's external cameras filmed coolant in the form of flakes leaving the Soyuz spacecraft and dispersing into space. The leak lasted at least three hours. Although not yet confirmed, it was believed that the source of the leak was an external cooling system.

"The cause of this leak [is] not known at this time," said NASA spokesman Rob Navias, "Russian specialists are continuing to look at the data and discussing what may have triggered the leak."

For her part, NASA Flight Director Emily Nelson said Russian experts are preparing to check their systems and respond to the leak according to their procedures and policies. "Once they have a good understanding of the final status of the Soyuz tonight, we will then jointly make a decision about where to go forward from here," she said.

The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft went into space in September, with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio as crew members. The Soyuz MS-22 was also conceived as a "lifeboat" in case of an emergency aboard the International Space Station and the need to evacuate the crew.

Soyuz .jpg (435 KB)

The spacecraft is scheduled to return the crew to Earth next March, although it remains to be seen whether it will be able to complete its mission safely after this incident. According to Space.com, if the Soyuz MS-22 fails to return its crew to Earth, Roscosmos may send an unmanned spacecraft to the International Space Station for this purpose.

This is the second time Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin have had to cancel a "spacewalk" into space. The last time, on November 24, they were preparing to leave the International Space Station when a problem arose with one of the water cooling pumps in Prokopyev's spacesuit.

There are seven crew members on the International Space Station, three of whom are Russian astronauts, three Americans and one Japanese.


 
 
 
 
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