Page 4 - Spec Tech Vol 1 Issue 10

Soyuz capsule damaged by uncontrolled
leak while at space station, Russia's
space agency says
An uncontrolled coolant leak on a
Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft docked at
the International Space Station had
damaged the crew capsule, Russia's space
agency Roscosmos has said in a
statement.
On Wednesday (Dec. 14) at 7:45 p.m. EST
(0045 GMT on Dec. 15), a violent coolant
leak on Russia's Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft
currently docked to the International Space
Station (ISS) was detected while Expedition
68 cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and
Dmitry Petelin were preparing for a nearly
seven-hour spacewalk outside the ISS. The
extravehicular activity (EVA) was called off
after both cosmonauts were already in their
spacesuits and beginning to depressurize
the airlock. Cameras on the outside of the
space station showed a steady stream of
frozen coolant shooting into space from
the Soyuz capsule as the cosmonauts
returned to the main body of the station.
On Thursday (Dec. 15), Roscosmos issued
a statement(opens in new tab) via its
Telegram channel, writing that "according
to preliminary information, on Thursday,
December 15, the outer skin of the
instrument and assembly compartment of
the Soyuz MS-22 manned spacecraft was
damaged," but that the crew aboard the
Space Explorer 2022
space station remains safe, according to a trans-
lation by Google. (The incident occurred at 3:45
a.m. local time on Dec. 15 for Russia's mission
control.)
"The crew reported that the warning device of the
ship's diagnostic system went off, indicating a
pressure drop in the cooling system. A visual in-
spection confirmed the leak, after which it was
decided to interrupt the planned extravehicular
activities by the crew members of the Russian
segment of the ISS, Sergey Prokopiev and Dmitry
Petelin," Roscosmos officials wrote in the
statement.
"At the moment, all systems of the ISS and the
ship are operating normally, the crew is safe," the
statement continued. "After analyzing the
situation, a decision will be made on the further
actions of both specialists on Earth and members
of the crew of the ISS Russian
segment.
"NASA issued a similar statement on Thursday,
writing that "NASA and Roscosmos will continue
to work together to determine the next course of
action following the ongoing analysis. The crew
members aboard the space station are safe, and
were not in any danger during the leak."
In response to a request for more detailed
information from Space.com, a NASA
spokesperson said the agency will issue an
update on its blog.
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