[ad_1]
The current mission chief aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is coming up against the suggestion that he or one of his teammates could have caused the recent leak of the lab into orbit.
"I can say unequivocally that the crew did not do that," said yesterday (11 September) in an interview with ABC News, Florida Today, NASA astronaut Drew Feustel, commander of the ISS Expedition 56. . "I think it's absolutely shameful and somewhat embarrassing that someone loses the time to talk about something in which the crew was involved."
The story of the leak has taken several turns in recent weeks, so let's start at the beginning. [Russia’s Crewed Soyuz Space Capsule Explained (Infographic)]
On the night of August 29, ISS field controllers noticed a slight pressure drop at the outpost in orbit. The next day they warned the crew and the travelers quickly located the problem in a small hole of a Russian Soyuz vessel docked at the laboratory in orbit.
The space station astronauts repaired a small hole in the upper orbital module of the Soyuz MS-09 satellite (left) on August 30, 2018. Russian space officials said the hole was probably caused by exercise; the investigators are trying to figure out exactly what happened.
Credit: NASA / Space.com
Cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev, the Soyuz commander, repaired the 2 mm (0.08 inch) hole using epoxy and gauze on August 30, apparently solving the problem. The crew of Expedition 56 has never been in danger, pointed out NASA officials.
Russian space officials quickly formed a commission to investigate the leak and its cause. And last week, Dmitry Rogozin – head of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos – announced that the breach in the Soyuz wall was a borehole. The person who made the hole apparently had "a hesitant hand," added Rogozin, citing nearby brands that likely occurred when the exercise slipped.
Rogozin also swore that the officials would determine whether the hole had been drilled intentionally or by accident, "either on land or in space".
It's this last element – the possible involvement of members of the Expedition 56 crew – which apparently raised Feustel's anger.
In his interview with ABC News, Feustel urged ISS officials in the field to understand exactly what had happened, saying "the implications are enormous for the entire space program". And he congratulated the crew of Expedition 56 for managing a difficult situation.
"I can not say enough about the crew's performance, how we reacted, how we stayed together and continued to work as a team, as we have always done, to ensure our safety, safety and security. the spaceship, and assurance of mission priorities, "said Feustel, according to Florida Today.
The hole was in the upper "orbital module" of the Soyuz, which arrived at the ISS in June. The spacecraft is expected to leave the ISS in December, bringing to Earth Prokopyev's Earth, NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst. The hole should not be a problem during this return, said NASA officials. (Soyuz orbital modules are designed to burn in the Earth's atmosphere.)
The Soyuz spacecraft is the only one to be in orbit since NASA in 2011. However, the private space taxis developed by SpaceX and Boeing should be ready to take some of this responsibility soon. both vehicles should begin crew test flights next year.
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @ michaeldwall and Google+. follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally posted on Space.com.
[ad_2]
Source link
