Leaders of US and Russian space agencies intervene on leak of ISS

The Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft was launched with three members of the Expedition 56 crew bound for the International Space Station. Photo credit: Sean Costello / SpaceFlight Insider

Officials of the Russian and American space agencies issued a joint statement on September 13, 2018 detailing NASA-Roscosmos' discussions regarding the August 29 atmospheric leak on the international space station discovered by a Russian Soyuz vessel.

The conversation took place between NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine and Roscosmos general manager Dmitry Rogozin about ISS operations following a request from Roscosmos.

After methodically reducing the area of ​​the leak to the Soyuz MS-09 orbital module, the Expedition 56 crew, together with the field mission controllers in Houston and Moscow, sealed the hole.

On June 6, 2018, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev, NASA astronaut Serena Aunon-Chancellor and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst visited the space Soyuz MS -09 on a Soyug-FG rocket.

The following is a part of the statement published by NASA:

"In the course of their discussions, Dmitry Rogozin informed his US counterpart of Roscosmos' decision to establish a Roscosmos-led commission to investigate the cause of the leak in the Soyuz probe (MS-09 / 55S) currently docked at the station.

"The Administrator and the Director General took note of speculation in the media about the possible cause of the incident and agreed to postpone any preliminary findings and provide explanations until the final investigation is complete. .

"They affirmed the need for closer interaction between the NASA and Roscosmos technical teams to identify and eliminate the causes of the leaks, as well as the continuation of normal ISS operations and the continued support of NASA to the Soyuz survey. They acknowledged that the entire crew was dedicated to the safe operation of the station and all spacecraft moored to ensure mission success.

"The director and general manager of Roscosmos have agreed to conduct their first meeting facing the Baikonur Cosmodrome around October 10, when NASA's director will visit Russia and Kazakhstan as part of the launch. Soyuz spacecraft Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexy Ovchinin.

While the statement said some of the theories about the potential source of the leak were circulating in the media, there was no mention that Rogozin himself raised the specter of sabotage. As noted in a September 3 report from TASS, the Roscosmos chief stated that if a possible strike by a micrometreoid had been excluded, the hole was almost certainly caused by one person: "This was done by one hand human – there are traces of drilling sliding along the surface.

Tagged: Dmitry Rogozin Expedition 56 International Space Station Jim Bridenstine NASA Heads Roscosmos Soyuz MS-09

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Jason Rhian

Jason Rhian spent several years honing his skills with internships at NASA, the National Space Society and other organizations. He has provided content for sales outlets such as: Aviation Week & Space Technology, Space.com, The Mars Society and Universe Today.