after the recent Escape from the Russian Soyuz capsuledocked to the ISS, NASA questioned SpaceX about the possibility of returning astronauts from the ISS with the Dragon capsule, something already imagined by the Americans.
The interrogation is part of the joint mission between NASA it’s at Roscosmos to rescue astronaut Frank Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, as the troubled Russian capsule lacks adequate lifesaving equipment.
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One solution envisaged by the two agencies is to place the Dragon capsules in place of the Soyuz MS-22. “As part of the review, NASA also contacted SpaceX about its ability to return additional crew aboard Dragon if needed in an emergency, although the primary focus will be on understanding Soyuz MS’s post-escape capabilities -22,” NASA wrote in a blog post on Dec. 30.
A recent Reuters report indicated the same thing, but now NASA confirms it is considering using a Dragon to rescue MS-22. “We’ve asked SpaceX some questions about their ability to return additional crew to Dragon if needed, but that’s not our main focus right now,” NASA spokeswoman Sandra Jones said in a statement to Reuters published Wednesday (28). .
Another option would be for Roscosmos to send a replacement Souyz. However, such a mission could only be launched in February, according to information from Sergei Krikalev, head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, near Moscow, during a NASA press conference on December 22.
“Our next crew […] was scheduled to fly in mid-March,” Krikalev said, adding that at least one new Soyuz could be “delivered a little earlier […] about two, three weeks earlier, that’s the best we can do now.”
Soyuz escape
Roscosmos is still investigating the cause of the leak and planning how to fix it this month. Russia’s state news agency TASS said on Dec. 27 that the leak was caused by “external mechanical damage,” though it was unclear whether a meteoroid or space debris was to blame.
Whatever the cause of the leak, the damaged Soyuz spacecraft poses a serious safety concern for the MS-22 crew, Rubio, Petelin and Prokopyev. Tommaso Sgobba, executive director of the International Association for the Advancement of Space Security (IAASS) and former head of spaceflight security at the European Space Agency, told Space.com that the Soyuz leak is a big risk .
“This would probably be the first time the space station doesn’t have the full capacity of a lifeboat,” Sgobba said. “It’s my personal feeling, but if it’s true, we have a big problem on the ISS. We’re missing the crew escape system.
A potential obstacle to using a Dragon as a lifeboat are the space suits worn by the crew of MS-22; SpaceX capsules are designed to work in tandem with custom SpaceX spacesuits, while the crew of MS-22 departed for the ISS wearing Russian Sokol spacesuits.
SpaceX has not yet taken a position on the possibility of sending a Dragon capsule to the ISS to replace the beleaguered Soyuz MS-22.
With information from space. com
Featured image: NASA TV
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