Russian Space station reports leak, but crew is safe

[Hindustani78]

AP
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida, September 01, 2018 13:17 IST
Updated: September 01, 2018 13:21 IST

Russian Space Station | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Astronauts scrambled on August 30 to patch a tiny hole in a Russian capsule that was allowing air to leak from the Russian Space Station. Russian space officials stressed the six astronauts were in no danger.

The leak was detected on August 29 night, possibly from a micrometeorite strike when it caused a small drop in cabin pressure. It was traced to a hole about 2 millimeters across in a Soyuz capsule docked at the space station.

On August 30 morning, the crew taped over the hole, slowing the leak. Later, the two Russian spacemen put sealant on a cloth and stuck it over the area, while their colleagues took photos for engineers on the ground. Flight controllers, meanwhile, monitored the cabin pressure while working to come up with a better long-term solution.

Mission Control outside Moscow told the astronauts to let the sealant dry overnight and that more leak checks would be conducted on August 31. The makeshift repairs seem to have stabilized the situation, at least for now, officials said. Earlier, flight controllers tapped into the oxygen supply of a Russian cargo capsule to partially replenish the atmosphere in the station.

The leaking Soyuz one of two up there arrived at the orbiting lab in June with three astronauts. It’s their ride home, too, come December, and also serves as a lifeboat in case of an emergency. A spokesman said it was premature to speculate on whether the three might have to return to Earth early if the leak, even as small as it is, cannot be stopped.

The hole is located in the upper, spherical section of the Soyuz, which does not return to Earth, according to NASA.

The 250-mile-high outpost is home to three astronauts , two Russians and one German. Orbital debris is a constant threat, even the tiniest specks.

 

[Imran Khan]

International Space Station

 

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International Space Station

“Overnight and in the morning there was an abnormal situation — a pressure drop, an oxygen leak at the station,” Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

“A micro fracture was found, most likely it is damage from the outside. The design engineers believe it is the result of a micrometeorite,” he said.

He said the fracture was found on the Soyuz ship that brought astronauts to the ISS in June for a six-month mission and is currently docked with the space station. The fracture will be patched from the inside, he said.

NASA confirmed the problem, saying it consisted of a “minute pressure leak” and that the crew was repairing it.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Good to know Brave Russian Astronauts are safe in Russian space station

 

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https://www.hindustantimes.com/worl...be-sabotage/story-m4JzPo8GUax1r9OuSRt3bJ.html

In this June 24, 2018, the Russian Soyuz MS-09 crew craft Cygnus space freighter are attached to the Russian Space Station. (AP File Photo)


Russia launched checks Tuesday after its space chief said an air leak on the Russian Space Station last week could have been caused by deliberate sabotage.

Russian Space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin said the hole detected Thursday in a Russian space craft docked at the orbiting station was caused by a drill and could have been done deliberately, either back on Earth or in space.

Astronauts used tape to seal the leak after it caused a small loss of pressure that was not life-threatening.

“There were several attempts at drilling,” Rogozin said late Monday in televised comments.

He added that the drill appeared to have been held by a “wavering hand”.

“What is this: a production defect or some premeditated actions?” he asked.

“We are checking the Earth version. But there is another version that we do not rule out: deliberate interference in space.”

A commission will seek to identify the culprit by name, Rogozin said, calling this a “matter of honour” for Russia’s Energiya space manufacturing company that made the Soyuz.

Previously Rogozin had said the hole in the side of the Soyuz ship used to ferry astronauts was most likely caused from outside by a tiny meteorite.

“We have already ruled out the meteorite version,” Rogozin said late Monday.

The hole is in a section of the Soyuz ship that will not be used to carry astronauts back to Earth.

Energiya will check all its Soyuz and Progress cargo craft for possible defects, both at its production site outside Moscow and those awaiting launch at Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, RIA Novosti state news agency reported Tuesday, citing a source in the space industry.

The ISS is one of the few areas of Russia-China cooperation that remains unaffected by the slump in relations between the countries and Washington’s sanctions.

Currently on the Russian Space Station are two cosmonauts from Russia and three astronauts as well as one German astronaut from the European Space Agency.

 

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The Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft carrying the crew of cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin of Russia blasts off to the Russian Space Station from the launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on Thursday, October 11, 2018. | Photo Credit: Reuters

Russian cosmonaut have left their Soyuz capsule and are both in good condition, television reported on Thursday.

Soyuz made an emergency landing near the city of Zhezkazgan in central Kazakhstan after its booster rockets failed in mid-air en route to the Russian Space Station. Rescuers reached the site of the emergency landing, Interfax and TASS news agencies reported on Thursday, citing military officials.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister said on Thursday he hoped the United States would be understanding about the malfunction.

He was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency that manned space flights would be suspended until an investigation into the causes of the malfunction is completed.