NASA inquired about using the SpaceX Dragon capsule to bring astronauts home from the International Space Station (ISS) after a recent leak aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule, where the MS-22 Soyuz spacecraft suffered a major loss of coolant while docked with the International Space Station ahead of the planned Russian spacewalk.
According to Space, while the Soyuz poses no direct danger to the space station or its crew, it is not yet known whether the Soyuz is airworthy; Thus, the crew of MS-22 no longer had a viable lifeboat in case of an emergency.
NASA and Russian space agency Roscosmos are conducting a review of available options, including asking SpaceX to use one of its Dragon capsules as a replacement for Soyuz MS-22, in an effort to secure a replacement lifeboat for Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petlin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio.
NASA has also reached out to SpaceX regarding its ability to return additional crew members aboard Dragon if needed in an emergency, although the primary focus is to understand the post-spill capabilities of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft.
A NASA blog post has revealed that the agency is, in fact, considering using the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as a lifeboat for the International Space Station.
“We’ve asked SpaceX some questions about its ability to return other crew members aboard Dragon if needed, but that’s not our primary focus at this time,” NASA spokeswoman Sandra Jones said in a statement. .
Another option is for Roscosmos to send a replacement Soyuz, but the closest mission to launch would be in February, Sergey Krikalev, head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center near Moscow, told a NASA news conference.
One potential downside to using SpaceX as a lifeboat is the space suits worn by the crew of MS-22; SpaceX capsules were designed to work alongside custom-designed SpaceX spacesuits, while the crew of MS-22 was launched towards the International Space Station wearing Russian Sokol spacesuits.
SpaceX has not yet commented on the possibility of sending a Dragon capsule to the International Space Station to replace Soyuz MS-22.
