Russia refuses US assistance in evacuating crew of Soyuz MS-22

FLY – Space Agency Russia Roscosmos refuses United States (US) assistance in evacuating crew Soyuz MS-22 return to Earth. The United States has offered to help evacuate the crew of Soyuz MS-22 after they suffer a cooling system leak in space.

“They (the United States) have offered various options for assistance, including the use of their spacecraft to return our cosmonauts to Earth. However, we do not need this assistance today,” Roscosmos head Yury Borisov said during an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel quoted by SINDOnews from the TASS website on Tuesday (12/27/2022).

On December 15, 2022, a pressure drop occurred in the external cooling circuit of the Soyuz MS-22 manned spacecraft as the Russian cosmonaut was preparing for a spacewalk. A visual inspection of the spacecraft from place in orbit confirms a coolant leak, resulting in an aborted spacewalk.

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As reported by the Russian space agency, Roscosmos flight controllers conducted a series of tests on the systems of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft. Among these were propulsion control system tests involving short-term activation of docked thrusters and trim.

That test revealed that no other errors were found. On December 18, the outer surface of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft was examined with the help of a camera on the space station.

Analyzing the data transmitted to Earth helps detect potential leaks in the instrumentation or equipment compartments of the spacecraft. According to preliminary data, the damage could be caused by micrometeoroids or space debris hitting the external cooling loop.

On December 27, 2022, a group of Russian experts met to discuss the fate of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, but no final decision will be made. It is understood that the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft has lost its cooling system due to a malfunction and engineers are currently evaluating the implications.

Read also; Soyuz MS-22 with 0.8mm bore, Russia sends replacement spacecraft in March 2023

“A meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, but a final decision has not yet been made. There will be reports from technical specialists and technical decisions made regarding further actions and how the flight schedule should be modified,” Roscosmos manned space program director Sergey Krikalyov said.

(wib)