The Russian theory that NASA sabotaged the space station spreading like wildfire

As you may recall, a low pressure leak occurred at the end of August aboard the International Space Station. Eventually, the crews traced the leak to the orbital module of a Russian Soyuz vessel that had arrived at the station in June. Once the problem appeared as a manufacturing defect, the head of the Russian space program basically called the person responsible for the error.

Now, however, something quite new is happening in Russia. A growing number of Russian publications have presented a new absurd theory: a NASA astronaut deliberately caused the leak on board the station in order to force the evacuation of a sick crew member. The story has spread like wildfire over the past 24 hours, according to Robinson Mitchell, who translates Russian space stories for Ars.

One of the most important articles was published on Wednesday Kommersant, which indicates that Russian investigators vigorously pursue the claim that the Americans may have deliberately damaged the Soyuz. Dmitry Rogozin, leader of Roscosmos, reportedly said publicly about Russia's leak investigation: "The results we have received do not give us an objective picture. The situation is much more complex than we thought before.

Version b

In private, however, several space agency sources are sending much more juicy commentary to the Russian media. "Our Soyuz is next to the Rassvet (Dawn) module, right next to the hatch in the US segment of the station," said a source. Kommersant. "Access to our ship is only possible with the permission of our commander, but we can not rule out unauthorized access by the Americans."

The working theory looks like this: one of the American crew members – there are currently three on board: Major Drew Feustel, Ricky Arnold and Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor – got sick in August. Leaving the station would have required the departure of three astronauts and cosmonauts, because a Soyuz can not leave without a complete crew, because that would not leave enough places for an evacuation of emergency. The reason for the sabotage seems to be that NASA did not want to pay the full cost of a new Soyuz, probably about $ 85 million.

Therefore, to force the evacuation without having to pay the cost of an additional Soyuz to get to the station, a NASA astronaut pierced a hole in the orbital module of one of the vessels space of Soyuz. This would not have been a major problem for the reentry, as the orbital module is rejected before the spacecraft enters the atmosphere. As evidence of this, Russian sources indicated that there were several "drill marks" around the leak site, which indicates that someone drilled without support in microgravity.

According to reports, this theory of "version B" is now a priority investigation by a special commission created by Roscosmos after the leak. The commission reportedly searched for US video recordings on the station as well as information on the medical conditions of current crew members.

Unfortunately, the Russians do not foresee cooperation for reasons of medical confidentiality. One of Kommersant's sources said: "But if it happens that they provide the information, any additional questions regarding their involvement in the incident would be superfluous."

The commander of the ISS firmly denies

NASA officials have refused to provide public comment on the issue because they do not want to be involved in the story. However, during a space interview with ABC News Tuesday, NASA 's astronaut who commands the station, Drew Feustel, strongly denied the idea that he or a member of the station himself. crew would have caused this problem. "I can say unequivocally that the crew has nothing to do with it in orbit, no doubt, and I think it's really ashamed and somewhat embarrassing that someone loses the time to talk about something in which the crew was involved, "said Feustel. .

The theory of an NASA astronaut or anyone on board the station doing an exercise to pierce the laboratory atmosphere in orbit is ridiculous. This seems to be some sort of Rogozin game to distract the attention of the public (and his boss, Vladimir Putin) from the fact that Russia's space manufacturing program is no longer what it is. was. The political repercussions of this situation will be fascinating to observe, as we have rarely seen such a conflict between Roscomos and NASA, who usually have an excellent working relationship.