NASA has asked SpaceX if it is possible to deploy the Dragon Crew capsule to pick up the crew, confirms a spokesman for the US space agency Reuters. NASA stresses that ISS crew rescue is not yet on the agenda.
On December 15, the Soyuz capsule was damaged when Russian cosmonauts wanted to take a spacewalk. The spacecraft is believed to have been hit by a tiny space rock or possibly even a space fragment. This caused a leak in the space shuttle’s cooling system.
Coolant leaked out due to leak. The Soyuz capsule can probably no longer be used. Three ISS crew members, two Russians and one American, were expected to return to Earth early next year.
A NASA spokesman said no decision has yet been made about how the astronauts will return to Earth. Both NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos are studying the possibilities.
