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A mysterious leak discovered last week on the International Space Station defies scientists and countries, reports Atlantic.
On August 30, ground flight controllers found a decrease in atmospheric pressure aboard the ISS, alerting them of a possible leak from the space station. To date, six astronauts – including three Americans, two Russians and one German – live in the station, but NASA did not immediately notify them of the leak because they were sleeping at the time of the discovery and that the leak did not occur. Was not taken into account. quite alarming.
However, they were told to look for the source of the leak as soon as they awoke, and at the inspection, the astronauts found a small hole in the Russian-made Soyuz capsule that carries the astronauts to and from the earth. The discovery was alarming since Soyuz is the only option available to astronauts to return to Earth. The United States ended its space shuttle program in 2011. The capsule is supposed to bring back the ISS astronauts in December. the engineers found the hole now, considering that it could have been fatal later.
Astronauts quickly used Kapton tape, a type of glue that works even in extreme temperatures, to plug the hole. Later, the hole was covered with the help of a sealer, but the way it happened has caused a lot of dismay for the officials on earth.
Shortly after the discovery, there was a broad consensus that the hole could have been caused by a micrometeoroid, a tiny space debris that moves at a speed fast enough to damage the metals. But incredibly, this theory was rejected this week when the Russian Space Agency realized that the hole had been dug inside the capsule.
Summary on the leak of the ISS:
The first thought was the strike of the MMOD.
So NASA has published photos. Many people: "Hmmm, do not look like MMOD". NASA has deleted the photos.
The main Russian news site RIA NOVOSTI reported – via sources but apparently confirmed by Mr Rogozin – that it was a borehole. pic.twitter.com/520kHK0TMc
– Chris B – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) September 3, 2018
This sparked speculation about how the hole was created, as the Russian Space Agency convened a meeting with its international counterparts on 10 September. Although we can know the exact cause of the mysterious hole well after this meeting, Russia thinks that the hole could be a sabotage job.
"It is too early to say clearly what happened. But this seems to be done in a hesitant way, "said Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian Space Agency.
"It is a technological mistake of a specialist. It was done by a human hand. There are traces of a drill sliding along the surface. We do not reject any theory. "
The most frightening part is that Russia does not even exclude the possibility that the hole could have been pierced before the capsule was used to transport astronauts from the ground.
Rogozin is committed to "finding the one who is responsible for it, to find out whether there was an accidental fault or deliberate deterioration and where it was done, that either on Earth or in space ".
Russia and the United States have promised to work in tandem to find the culprit, but for now, the mystery is deepening.
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