Russia’s area company mentioned Tuesday that preliminary information counsel a coolant leak on a Progress cargo freighter docked on the Worldwide Area Station earlier this month was brought on by “exterior influences” — presumably one thing that occurred throughout its launch final 12 months, in line with a senior NASA area station supervisor.
It was the second time in two months {that a} Russian spacecraft docked on the area station all of a sudden leaked coolant fluid, following the lack of coolant from a Soyuz crew ferry spacecraft in December. The 2 leaks had been comparable, each originating from every spacecraft’s thermal management system, spewing a cloud of frozen coolant into area.
The Progress MS-21 cargo ship undocked from the area station Friday, as scheduled, six days after Russian floor controllers first detected a lack of strain within the spacecraft’s cooling system. Cameras operated by Russian cosmonauts contained in the station and distant managed cameras outdoors the complicated captured high-resolution photographs of the Progress MS-21 spacecraft, revealing a 12-millimeter gap the place the coolant fluid flowed out of the cooling system Feb. 11.
The Progress MS-21 accomplished a de-orbit burn Saturday and descended again into the ambiance over the distant South Pacific Ocean, burning up and discarding a number of tons of trash and different no-longer-needed gadgets from the area station.
Russia’s area company, Roscosmos, posted an replace on its Telegram channel Tuesday, claiming the preliminary conclusion of the investigation into the injury to the Progress MS-21 provide ship indicated it was brought on by an “exterior affect,” and never a producing defect.
The coolant leaks on the Progress MS-21 cargo spacecraft Feb. 11 and the Soyuz MS-22 crew capsule Dec. 14 had been not like something that has occurred within the greater than 25-year historical past of the area station. Russian area company managers determined to launch a contemporary Soyuz spacecraft to switch the broken Soyuz MS-22 car after its coolant leak.
“In keeping with preliminary information from RSC Energia (prime contractor for the Soyuz and Progress spacecraft), the Progress MS-21, just like the Soyuz MS-22 earlier than, was uncovered to exterior influences,” Roscosmos mentioned. “Such conclusions are made on the idea of pictures that present modifications on the outer floor of the ship, together with on the radiator of the instrument-aggregate compartment and photo voltaic panels.”
Roscosmos mentioned managers cleared the brand new Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, a alternative for the broken Soyuz, for launch Thursday at 7:24 p.m. EST (0024 GMT Friday) on a Soyuz-2.1a rocket.
Floor groups on the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan rolled the brand new Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft and its Soyuz booster to their launch pad Tuesday. The Soyuz MS-23 capsule, initially slated to launch a crew of three in March, will fly to the station.just a few weeks sooner than initially deliberate with none individuals on-board.
The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft is scheduled to autonomously dock on the Poisk module on the Russian phase of the area station at 8:01 p.m. EST Saturday (0101 GMT Sunday). Assuming the brand new Soyuz completes its automated docking as deliberate, the broken Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft will depart the complicated subsequent month to go for a parachute-assisted touchdown in Kazakhstan.
Russian commander Sergey Prokopyev, cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio will return to Earth on Soyuz MS-23 after the launch of Soyuz MS-24 with their alternative crew in September. Their expedition was prolonged by six months after Russian area officers shuffled the schedule of missions to the area station within the wake of the Soyuz coolant leak.
And not using a functioning inside cooling system, Russian engineers are involved about overheating of computer systems and different inside elements on the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft throughout the flight from the area station again to Earth. Engineers deemed the broken Soyuz protected sufficient to make use of for an emergency evacuation of the area station, however prolonged the keep of its three-man crew on the complicated from March till September, when they are going to trip the brand new Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft again to Earth.
The coolant leaks on the Soyuz MS-22 and Progress MS-21 spacecraft had been not like something that has occurred within the greater than 25-year historical past of the area station. Russian officers initially blamed the Soyuz MS-22 coolant leak on a probable affect from a tiny piece of rock from deep area, known as a micrometeoroid. After the leak on the Progress cargo freighter earlier his month, it’s not clear if Roscosmos officers nonetheless consider within the micrometeoroid rationalization for the Soyuz MS-22 leak.
Dana Weigel, NASA’s deputy program supervisor for the ISS, mentioned Tuesday that the U.S. area company can also be analyzing information to seek out the reason for the leaks.
She informed reporters she didn’t interpret the Russian area company’s assertion about an “exterior affect” on Progress MS-21 as particularly pointing to micrometeoroid injury.
“I really don’t interpret that was micrometeoroid injury over the spacecraft,” Weigel mentioned, referring to the Roscosmos assertion on Progress MS-21. “I believe what they’re actually attempting to know is are there any indicators or signatures that someplace alongside the spacecraft’s journey, whether or not it’s launch or launch car separation, there’s another exterior affect or injury that might have occurred that might have been an element there.”
The Progress MS-21 cargo ship launched in October, carrying gas, meals and provides to the area station. The coolant leak Feb. 11 occurred, presumably in a coincidence, shortly after docking of the brand new Progress MS-22 provide ship.
Within the subsequent part of the investigation, Russia’s area company plans floor experiments to simulate the injury noticed on the Soyuz MS-22 and Progress MS-21 autos.
The launch and docking of the brand new Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft will happen as NASA and SpaceX gear up for launch of a four-man crew from Kennedy Area Middle in Florida early Monday. The multinational Crew-6 mission, consisting of crew members from america, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia, will launch on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket, kicking off a six-month mission on the Worldwide Area Station.
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