A source from the Russian space agency Roscosmos said Thursday that a coolant leak identified in a Russian space capsule attached to the International Space Station may have been caused by a small meteorite.
The Associated Press (AP) reported to Roscosmos news agency and NASA that the accident posed no danger to the station’s crew.
However, the escape prompts a pair of Russian cosmonauts to abort a planned spacewalk earlier in the day.
Sergey Krikalev, a veteran cosmonaut who works as director of human spaceflight programs at Roscosmos, explained that a meteorite that hit one of the external radiators of the Soyuz MS-22 capsule caused a coolant leak.
Krikalev said in a statement that the defect may affect the performance of the capsule’s cooling system and the temperature in the capsule’s equipment section, but does not endanger the crew.
Krikalev added that Russian flight controllers are assessing the situation and monitoring temperature indicators on board the Soyuz ship.
“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 confirmed Thursday that “none of the crew members aboard the space station were in danger and all conducted their normal operations throughout the day.”
The US agency endorsed the Russian statement, stating that “the external cooling circuit of the Soyuz radiator is the suspected source of the leak.”
“Rocosmos closely monitors temperatures of the Soyuz capsule, which remain within acceptable limits,” NASA said in a statement.
“NASA and Roscosmos continue to coordinate external imaging and inspection plans to help assess the location of the external leak. Plans to conduct additional inspection of an external portion of Soyuz using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm are underway,” he said.
Krikalev explained that the station’s future operations depend on assessing the condition of the capsule.
Also on the station are Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev, Dmitry Petlin, Anna Kikina, Frank Rubio Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
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