Space16 December 2022

Russian and NASA engineers were analyzing a leak from a crew capsule docked with the International Space Station that may have been caused by a micrometeorite strike.

NASA TV images show white particles in the back of the vessel.

Screen grab from video of the coolant leak
A screen grab from a video taken at the International Space Station of a coolant leak from the Soyuz spacecraft. (NASA)

The last-minute cancellation of a spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts on Wednesday could affect the return flight of three crew members.

The US space agency and Russia's space corporation said there was no risk to the astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station.

NASA said that the crew members aboard the space station were not in danger.

The ground teams were looking at potential impacts to the integrity of the spaceship.

The next course of action will be determined by NASA and Roscosmos.

The leak may have been caused by a small meteorite, according to Sergei Krikalev, the head of the crewed space flight program.

Krikalev said that the leak may be caused by a micrometeorite. Changes in the temperature regime are possible.

There have been no changes to the telemetric parameters of the Russian or American stations.

Coolant pressure drop

The crew on the station "completed normal operations Thursday, including configuring tools for a planned US spacewalk on Monday," NASA said.

Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin were flown to the International Space Station.

It is planned to bring them back to Earth in March and another ship will have to be sent to the International Space Station.

When the leak was discovered, Prokopyev and Petelin were preparing for a space walk.

The crew reported a pressure drop in the cooling system after the warning device went off. The crew is safe at the moment, all systems are running normally.

NASA said there was a leak on the "aft end" of the space station's security system.

Four other astronauts and cosmonauts are also aboard the space station.

A group of people were flown to the International Space Station in October aboard a spaceship.

Since the beginning of Moscow's assault on Ukraine in February, space has been a rare avenue of cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

The space station was launched in 1998 at a time of increased cooperation between the US and Russia.

Agence France- Presse.