Moscow, Dec. 19 (BNA): The Russian space company, Roscosmos, said today, Monday, that a coolant leak from a Russian space capsule attached to the International Space Station does not require the evacuation of its crew, but the agency maintained the possibility of an alternative launch. capsule, if needed.
Roscosmos said a panel of experts will determine later this month whether the Soyuz MS-22 capsule can be safely used by the crew for its planned return to Earth or whether it should be scrapped and replaced.
The next scheduled launch of the Soyuz was in March, the AP said, but that could be expedited, if necessary.
The leak from Soyuz MS-22 was spotted last week as a pair of Russian cosmonauts were about to exit the station for a planned spacewalk.
Russian mission control aborted the spacewalk when specialists on the ground saw a stream of liquids and particles emanating from the Soyuz spacecraft on a live video feed from space.
Both Roscosmos and NASA said the accident posed no danger to the station’s crew.
Roscosmos said the leak could have been caused by a small meteorite or a piece of space junk hitting one of the capsule’s external radiators.
On Monday, the company said the leak caused the temperature in the capsule’s crew section to rise to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).
Roscosmos said the temperature in the equipment section initially rose to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) but dropped to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) after ground experts converted some of the capsule’s systems.
insignificant