Russian media spread absurd conspiracy theory about damage caused by the ISS

The discovery of a small 2mm drill hole in the Soyuz capsule, attached to the International Space Station at the end of August, caused a shockwave by both NASA and by Roscosmos. The hole, which seems to have been drilled from inside the capsule, has a diameter of about 2 mm. Although this has never posed a risk to astronauts and cosmonauts about the ISS, Russia has promised a quick investigation and that it will find the people responsible. Until here everything is fine.

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

But a conspiracy theory began to spread in the Russian media that these events were the result of NASA's secret conspiracy to return a sick crew member early in the morning. This argument has spread to such an extent that ISS commander Drew Feustel issued a statement condemning the allegations. "I can say unequivocally that the crew had nothing to do with it in orbit, no doubt, and I think it's really shameful and somewhat embarrassing to waste some time talking of something in which the crew was involved, "said Feustel. in an interview with ABC News. NASA also issued a statement stressing that she continues to work with Roscosmos to investigate the leak and its unfolding.

Would it have been possible to sabotage the Soyuz capsule in space? Not easily, according to experts. The lack of gravity and the shape of the hull where the hole was drilled does not allow an astronaut or cosmonaut to stall while drilling – and this is a functional requirement when working at zero-g.

"You have to push with enough force to penetrate both the fiberglass and the aluminum wall," Pablo De Leon, professor of extravehicular activity and space suit design at the Department of Space Studies, told Gizmodo. from the University of North Dakota. "It's mechanically difficult to do. You have no way to make sure with one hand in this particular space to make the hole with the second hand.

Two people theoretically could have made the hole, one to maintain the driller, but at that point you claim that two astronauts, both of whom have undergone extensive psychological testing and training, would risk themselves and their crew members a attempt to send a third astronaut back to Earth because of an undiagnosed, undisclosed and publicly unknown medical problem, serious enough to jeopardize the entire future of the ISS. All this is assumed because NASA does not want to pay $ 85 million for a Soyuz replacement capsule if the current capsule was used to bring the crew back to Earth.

The same anonymous sources who allegedly confirmed this information also noted that the Americans had only limited access to the Soyuz and that no access was allowed without the permission of the Russian commander – which would raise his own questions about how including two astronauts in a space station with a tiny amount of living space managed to pierce the wall of a spaceship without anyone being wiser.

It should be noted that conspiracy theories in Russia tend to have characteristics different from those of the United States. A full discussion of how Russian conspiracy theories take root and spread is beyond the scope of this article, but if you want to know more about it, we have associated some resources. Because markets like Russia Today (RT) function as propaganda tools for the Russian government, conspiracy theories in Russia are often directly broadcast by those who hold power and broadcast through official channels rather than from the grassroots. It is not uncommon to see several theories presented simultaneously. Some of you may recall that after the killing of MH17 by Russian troops operating in Ukraine as so-called local resistance fighters, a flurry of contradictory explanations was launched, including:

• The Ukrainian government shot down the plane accidentally
• The Ukrainian government shot down the plane on purpose
• The Ukrainian government has deliberately led the plane into a war zone
• The Ukrainian government shot down the plane, but with a Su-25 and non-Buk missile launcher
• The plane was destroyed by a Buk missile launcher, but it was fired from Zaroshchenske and not from Snizhne by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft unit.
• Passengers on MH17 were loaded into the plane dead. Some had been dead for several days before takeoff.

The diffusion of so many different versions of a story is to confuse and confuse the problem to the point where people conclude that it is impossible to know what really happened. In this case, Russia may want to avoid the embarrassment of recognizing a manufacturing error that could have endangered the entire ISS crew. But at this stage there is no reason to believe that the leak of the ISS was caused by a manufacturing error, probably compounded by an employee's decision to try to repair the damage rather than admit it.

Now read: Russian investigators suggest that damage to the ISS could be sabotaged, that Boeing and SpaceX might not be ready for manned flights in 2019, and that the astronaut's gene expression could be permanently altered by year in the space