The International Space Station It’s in the news again due to a refrigerant leak. occurs again in a Russian spaceship that is docked to it, and the big question is, are astronauts in danger?
Progress MS-21 is the name of the Russian ship docked with problems, which accompanies the Progress MS-22, on the ISS since February 11.
Roscosmos, The Russian space agency reported through its Telegram channel that “a depressurization had occurred.” The key is that does not constitute a threat to the crew of the International Space Station.
They are currently Nicole Aunapu Mann, Josh Casada, Koichi Wakata (JAXA) and Anna Kikina (Roscosmos), who arrived at the station on October 5, along with the Russians Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitriy Petelin, in addition to the American of Salvadoran origin Frank Rubio.
This last trio is stranded on the ISS, where it arrived on September 21, 2022, waiting for the return trip to Earth.
NASA confirmed the message from Roscosmos, adding that “The hatches between Progress 82 and the station are open, and the temperatures and pressures aboard the station are normal.”
The cause of the leak is still being investigated.
The International Space Station and its future in recent months
The Progress MS-21 spacecraft was launched towards the ISS in October 2022, delivering fuel, water and more cargo. According to the schedule, it would undock from the station on February 17, unrelated to the refrigerant leak.
Two months ago, the spaceship Soyuz MS-22, also docked to the ISS, suffered a refrigerant leak. “Everything points to a micrometeor impact. Joel Montalbano, manager of NASA’s ISS program, explained at the time. “Nothing was out of the ordinary in the manufacture of the vehicle.”
Initially Roscosmos had announced that it would not continue on the International Space Station after 2025, arguing that endangered the lives of its cosmonauts. However, there was a change of course, and it will possibly remain on the ISS until the end of the current decade.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in which the United States is on the side of the government of Volodimir Zelensky, has not affected the spatial relations between the two countries, beyond high-sounding statements from Roscosmos.
