Home » Health » NASA asked SpaceX if it could bring 3 astronauts back from the International Space Station in an emergency after a coolant leak on the Russian spacecraft

NASA asked SpaceX if it could bring 3 astronauts back from the International Space Station in an emergency after a coolant leak on the Russian spacecraft

NASA says it has contacted Elon Musk’s SpaceX about a possible emergency crew return mission from the International Space Station.Image by Paul Hennessy/SOPA/LightRocket via Getty Images

  • NASA has been considering SpaceX for a backup plan to return the crew of the International Space Station to Earth amid the loss of Soyuz.

  • NASA and the Russian Space Agency are investigating the leak, which began in December.

  • Two cosmonauts and one cosmonaut are expected to return in March aboard the Soyuz capsule.

NASA contacted Elon Musk’s SpaceX to see if it could bring the three crew members back from the International Space Station (ISS) after the docked Russian spacecraft leaked.

American Space Agency he said In a blog post on Friday, he asked whether SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft had the ability to facilitate returns in an emergency.

The agency added that its main goal is to understand the post-spill capabilities of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft.

The Soyuz capsule is expected to repatriate its three crew members in March after being transferred to the International Space Station on Sept. 21 for a six-month mission. NASA. The crew consisted of two cosmonauts, Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petlin, and the American astronaut Frank Rubio.

NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos have been working together to investigate the leak and determine next steps, according to the agency.

“We’ve asked SpaceX several questions about its ability to bring additional crew back aboard Dragon if needed, but that’s not our primary focus at this time,” a NASA spokesperson said in a statement. Reuters On December 28th.

NASA and SpaceX did not immediately respond to Insider requests for comment.

The external leak was first detected in the Soyuz capsule when two Roscosmos astronauts were preparing to walk in space. NASA he said on December 14.

screenshot Each other A NASA report in December showed the leak, which looks like white particles, sprayed from the Soyuz spacecraft, which is docked with the International Space Station.

Roscosmos said on Dec. 22 that it was considering a “rescue” mission to return crew members to Earth ahead of schedule. Reuters reported. This would involve flying an empty spacecraft to the International Space Station to pick them up, according to the report.

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