ISS News and Discussion

[Grendal]

NASA still working on long-term plans for ISS seat barters - SpaceNews

As NASA prepares to launch another commercial crew mission with a Russian cosmonaut on board, it has yet to work out an agreement on future crew swaps.

spacenews.com

 

[Grendal]

NASA hits limits of space station utilization - SpaceNews

NASA has effectively reached full utilization of the International Space Station given limitations on crew time and the ability to get cargo to and from it.

spacenews.com

 

[HVM]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1624430224942268417

Progress MS-21 - as well as Soyuz MS-21 from early - has now experienced a leak as well. Roscosmos is determining the cause. Meanwhile, Progress MS-22 docked safely to ISS this morning as Russian teams continue prepping Soyuz MS-22 for its emergency uncrewed launch this month.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1624429873732124677

Strugovets: The pressure in the thermal control system of the #ProgressMS21 service module is zero. All the cooling agent has leaked out.

 

[HVM]

International Space Station Operations Update, Crew Continues Normal Activities – Space Station

blogs.nasa.gov

Earlier today, Feb. 11, the uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 83 cargo spacecraft docked automatically to the aft end of the Zvezda service module at the International Space Station. The rendezvous and docking operations were conducted with no issues.

Meanwhile, engineers at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow recorded a depressurization in the unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 82 cargo ship’s coolant loop, which is docked to the space-facing Poisk module at the station. Progress 82, which arrived to the space station in October 2022, is scheduled to undock Friday, Feb. 17, filled with trash and will be deorbited over the Pacific Ocean.

The reason for the loss of coolant in the Progress 82 spacecraft is being investigated. The hatches between the Progress 82 and the station are open, and temperatures and pressures aboard the station are all normal. The crew, which was informed of the cooling loop leak, is in no danger and continuing with normal space station operations.

NASA specialists are assisting their Russian counterparts in the troubleshooting of the Progress 82 coolant leak. Officials are monitoring all International Space Station systems and are not tracking any other issues.

 

[ecarfan]

This is very strange. We were told that the recent Soyuz coolant leak was due to a micrometeorite impact. Now a Progress vehicle that has been docked at the ISS for several weeks (?) has lost all its coolant.

It seems extremely that the Progress leak was also due to a micrometeorite; what are the odds of two micrometeorite strikes hitting within a few weeks of each other and both causing a coolant leak and no other apparent damage?

My guess is that both leaks are due to a mechanical defect and not due to micrometeorites.

 

[ecarfan]

Eric Berger on the Progress leak:

A critical question is what caused the depressurization event observed Saturday. It seems improbable that a second micrometeorite would have struck as second Russian spacecraft in less than two months. This raises doubts about whether the Soyuz MS-22 failure was indeed a micrometeorite issue—Russia has never released images of the impact site—and instead perhaps a manufacturing defect.

In my opinion, Roscosmos probably lied about the cause of the Soyuz leak.

 

[Grendal]

Russia delays uncrewed Soyuz launch to investigate Progress leak

Russia has delayed the launch of an uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station to investigate damage to a second spacecraft there.

spacenews.com

 

[ecarfan]

To my completely untrained eye, the photo Roscosmos released do seem to support their statement that the Soyuz coolant leak was caused by an external impact. But it boggles the mind to think that an external impact also is responsible for the Progress coolant leak. What are the odds?

 

[ICUDoc]

To my completely untrained eye, the photo Roscosmos released do seem to support their statement that the Soyuz coolant leak was caused by an external impact. But it boggles the mind to think that an external impact also is responsible for the Progress coolant leak. What are the odds?

View attachment 907222

My eye is equally untrained- maybe a coolant leak through poor design or fatigue look exactly like that from the outside

 

[Grendal]

It looks like a very small hole that caused a leak to me. A micrometeorite could cause something like that. JMHO.

 

[bxr140]

My eye is equally untrained- maybe a coolant leak through poor design or fatigue look exactly like that from the outside

Appreciate that this is intended as a dig...but:

Definitely not design. Soyuz (the space vehicle in this case) has been around pretty much since space was invented. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the last major cooling system architecture sure overhaul was 40-50 years ago.

Fatigue is unlikely as well, as there's not really a material number of cycles put on anything in Soyuz.

If its self inflicted damage (so, not a micrometeorite), it's likely the result of workmanship. For years now the Russian space program has suffered from budget cuts and corollary short cuts up and down the supply chain. For instance, there could be some component inside that exploded [ostensibly as a result of just high pressure rather than actual combustion] in such a way that the shrapnel poked a single small hole through the skin on the way out.

 

[Grendal]

NASA planning to spend up to $1 billion on space station deorbit module

NASA is projecting spending nearly $1 billion on a tug to deorbit the International Space Station at the end of the decade.

spacenews.com