Russian Spacecraft Leak Caused by External Impact Written 22 February 2023
The Progress 81 cargo craft approaches the ISS for a docking to the Zvezda service module's rear port. The Soyuz MS-21 crew ship can be seen in the foreground docked to the Prichal docking module on the station's Russian segment. | Credit: NASA
The AP reports that Roscosmos said a coolant leak “from an uncrewed Russian supply ship docked at the International Space Station resulted from an external impact and not a manufacturing flaw.” The leak was spotted on the Progress MS-21 cargo ship on February 11, and came after a similar leak from a Soyuz capsule last December. Russian space officials “said that December’s leak was caused by a tiny meteoroid that left a small hole in the exterior radiator and sent coolant spewing into space.” The new leak “from another ship raised doubts about that theory, and Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos launched a probe into the incident to check whether it could have resulted from a manufacturing defect.”
More Info (Associated Press)