This is being a harrowing Christmas for three of the seven current inhabitants of the International Space Station (ISS, for its acronym in English). Since a leak was detected in the cooling system of the Soyuz ship docked at the ISS and with which the Russian cosmonauts should return to Earth Sergey Prokopyev y Dmitry Petelinand NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, the different space agencies involved are evaluating all the options available for their safe return home. The main affected Roscosmos, studies the shipment of a new Soyuz; however, this could not happen until at least February, which puts the three astronauts in a compromising situation in the event that a reconnaissance had to be carried out. emergency evacuation.
Although this would be the main plan, NASA has explained that it is already in talks with SpaceX -the space company Elon Musk which transports astronauts to the ISS – to assess the rescue of the three trapped astronauts with one of its Crew Dragon probes, the only option available to travel to the ISS apart from the Russian Soyuz.
“We have asked SpaceX some questions about their ability to send additional crew members on Dragon if necessary, but that is not our primary focus at this time,” said the NASA spokeswoman. Sandra Jones, in a statement released by Reuters. It is not clear whether a report has been requested about the current SpaceX ship docked on the ISS, baptized as Endeavourit is capable of carrying more than the four crew it is designed for or if a new Dragon ship would be transferred to for astronauts who have no way to return to Earth.
At the moment, SpaceX has not ruled on the matter either.
Looking for the culprit of the escape
It all happened on December 14. While NASA was showing the live preparations for a new routine spacewalk of precisely the cosmonauts mentioned, Prokopyev and Petelin, in the images a burst of particles similar to nine flakes could be seen coming out of the back of the docked Soyuz. At that time, the controllers from Moscow aborted the mission, although it has been ensured that no astronaut aboard the ISS was in danger.
Moment in which the NASA director recorded the leak in the Russian Soyuz
However, the leak lasted for hours and emptied the radiator of coolant used to regulate the temperature inside the capsule’s crew compartment. At the moment, the facts are being investigated, but the most probable cause so far seems to be a micrometeorite, which would have collided with the Soyuz while it was attached to the station.
Cosmonauts Prokopyev and Petelin, together with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, flew to the ISS last September aboard the capsule Soyuz MS-22 now damaged. Originally, they were to return home on the same spaceship in March. However, now the return is in danger. Bringing the Soyuz back unrepaired and with a crew on board seems an unlikely option, as the compromised cooling system plays a vital role in preventing the capsule from overheating. At the moment, it is being ventilated thanks to an open hatch to the ISS.
NASA explained that the capsule’s temperatures remain “within acceptable limits” and that a recent test of the capsule’s thrusters went smoothly. But Sergei KrikalevRussia’s head of manned space programs, explained at a press conference that the temperature would rise rapidly if the aforementioned hatch were closed, thus endangering astronauts who used it on the way home.
The options
Almost ruled out the return of the damaged and unrepaired Soyuz, Roscosmos is looking for more options. The most likely to date is to send another empty Soyuz to pick up the three astronauts. However, the Russian space agency has already confirmed that the rescue would take place in February, just two weeks before the scheduled date.
On the other hand, the docked Dragon is theoretically full: Endeavor will take NASA astronauts home in early 2023 Nicole Mann y josh cassadathe Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and the cosmonaut of Roscosmos Anna Kikina. Additionally, SpaceX typically only launches crew members who have been outfitted with a custom-made company spacesuit, so it’s not known whether the trapped astronauts clad in Russian Sokol-type spacesuits would qualify for use of the spacesuit. ship. At the moment, nothing has been said about it by any of the agencies involved.
The ISS crew is not in immediate danger; however, concern arises if the complex were to be evacuated for any reason, as, at the moment, it appears that three people are not guaranteed a safe journey home. To date, no crew has had to be evacuated in an emergency, although there have been threats, especially due to collisions with surrounding space debris.