The refrigerant leak identified in a Russian space capsule attached to the International Space Station may have been caused by a micrometeorite, a source at the Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Thursday.
Roscosmos and the US space agency NASA said the crash did not pose a danger to the station’s crew, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
However, the leak prompted a pair of Russian astronauts to abort a planned spacewalk earlier in the day.
Sergei Krikalev, a veteran astronaut who is director of human spaceflight programs at Roscosmos, explained that a meteorite hitting one of the Soyuz MS-22 capsule’s external radiators may have caused the refrigerant to leak.
The malfunction could affect the performance of the capsule’s cooling system and the temperature in the capsule’s equipment section, but does not put the crew at risk, Krikalev said in a statement.
Krikalev added that Russian air traffic controllers are assessing the situation and monitoring temperature indicators on the Soyuz.
“There have been no other changes in the parameters of the Soyuz spacecraft and the station, so there is no threat to the crew,” he stressed.
NASA stressed on Thursday that “none of the crew members aboard the space station were in danger and all conducted normal operations during the day.”
The US agency backed up the Russian statement, noting that “the external cooling loop of the Soyuz radiator is the suspected source of the leak.”
“Rocosmosmos is closely monitoring temperatures in the Soyuz capsule, which remain within acceptable limits,” NASA said in a statement.
“NASA and Roscosmos continue to coordinate exterior imaging and inspection plans to help assess the location of the exterior leak. Plans are underway for further inspection of the Soyuz exterior using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm,” he said. stated.
Krikalev explained that future operations of the station depend on an assessment of the condition of the capsule.
At the station are Russian astronauts Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin and Anna Kikina, NASA’s Frank Rubio Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
