Closeup of the drill hole astronauts found in the Soyuz MS-09 Spacecraft in 2018. NASA image creditCAPE CANAVERAL (Fla.) NASA's head for human spaceflight said that the agency stands by its astronauts after claims that a U.S. spaceflight crewmember sabotaged a Russian Soyuz satellite in 2018. This caused an air leak at NASA's orbiting laboratory.On Friday, August 13, NASA's human spaceflight chief Kathy Lueders stated that the personal attacks on Serena Aun–Chancellor, an Expedition 56 flight engineer, were unfounded.Lueders stated to reporters that Serena was a highly respected crew member who has served her country well and made valuable contributions to the agency. "And I stand by Serena, we stand behind Serena's professional conduct and I didn't find this accusation credible."Related: Space Station Commander: It's "absolutely shame" to suggest that astronauts caused an air leakThese sentiments were shared by Lueders via Twitter on Friday afternoon. Senator Bill Nelson, NASA's administrator, agreed. :Nelson tweeted, "I fully agree with Kathy’s statement." "I support Serena, and I will always stand by our astronauts."Russian accusationsThe statements made by NASA leadership on Friday were in response to accusations that an unnamed Russian space agency official had made in the Russian news agency TASS. According to the agency, Aun-Chancellor suffered an emotional breakdown while in space in 2018 and damaged a Russian Soyuz satellitecraft docked at station in order to return to Earth in a timely manner.This article was published on Thursday, August 12, in response to criticisms from the U.S. media regarding the near-disastrous incident involving Russia’s Nauka science module (ISS) and International Space Station (ISS).Related: Russia's Nauka Module Misfire at Space Station was More Serious Than SupposedNASA astronaut Serena Aun Chancellor speaks at a bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues Event on NASA's Artemis moon exploration program. It was held at the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington in September 2019. (Image credit Aubrey Gemignani/NASA).Mikhail Kotov, a Russian journalist, interviews Roscosmos' anonymous official in the TASS article.This article is especially troubling because it names Aun-Chancellor as the only female astronaut at that time, and also reveals a medical condition she had on-orbit. NASA typically keeps astronaut medical records and conditions secret.Aun-Chancellor received treatment for deep vein thrombosis (also known as a bloodclot) in her neck's jugular vein upon her return to Earth. Kotov suggests that Aun-Chancellor could be motivated to abandon the ISS in order to avoid a serious condition.Leaky SoyuzThe slight pressure drop observed by ISS controllers from NASA's Johnson Space Center Houston on Aug. 29, 2018 was noticed by NASA's Johnson Space Center. The crew was notified by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston the next day. They were able to trace their leakage to a tiny hole in Russia’s Soyuz MS-09 rocket. This spacecraft had docked to space station in June with Alexander Gerst, European Space Agency astronaut, and Sergey Prokopyev, Russian cosmonaut.Prokopyev (commander of the Soyuz at that time) solved the problem by filling the hole with epoxy and gauze. NASA officials stated that there was no danger to the crew.Russian space officials determined to discover the cause of the leak and decided to investigate it. Roscosmos' head Dmitry Rogozin announced shortly thereafter that the Soyuz wall breach was caused by a drill hole. Rogozin stated that the hole was made by someone with a "flattering hand", citing nearby scuff marks which likely occurred when the drill slipped.Russian officials went further and suggested that the unsteady hand could have been caused by the culprit drilling in microgravity. This meant that one crew member was responsible for the Soyuz spacecraft's assembly and testing before it was launched to Earth.On Aug. 30, 2018, astronauts from the Space Station repaired a small leak in the Soyuz MS-09 satellitecraft. Here, a 2-millimeter hole was found in the orbital module. This caused a slight drop in pressure inside the orbiting laboratory. Image credit NASA/Space.comNASA officials were able to pinpoint the exact locations of the U.S. space station astronauts prior to the leak and during it's onset thanks in part, to satellite surveillance. Video footage showed that none of the U.S. space station astronauts were within close proximity to the Russian segment, where the Soyuz vehicle docked. The Russians did not buy it. They believed that one of the crew had sabotaged the Soyuz.The latest TASS article claims that NASA video of the ISS may have been tampered and that Russian officials were denied access to Russian tools to administer lie detector tests or polygraphs to astronauts.The TASS article seems not to mention the most likely reason for the hole: human error at the ground. Most likely, the problem occurred on Earth before launch. Roscosmos had been investigating this issue, but has not yet released the final results.It is likely that a technician damaged the Soyuz spacecraft accidentally and tried to fix it with a patch. This patch could have become loose during flight, or while it was on-orbit due to repeated exposures to extreme temperatures as the station orbits Earth.Look aheadAlthough relations between the two agencies have become more difficult over the years, NASA leadership remains optimistic for a sustained orbital partnership.Nelson stated to Space.com prior to the launch of Boeing's Starliner rocket on July 30 that he was proud of the long-standing relationships between the two agencies. "Terrestrially we have huge tensions with Russia but in space we have cooperation."Nelson stated that he believes Russia will continue to cooperate with NASA to maintain the ISS. He also indicated that he hopes that he will announce soon that a cosmonaut will fly aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon flight. This is something that the agency has been trying for a while.Perhaps cosmonauts may make their U.S. spaceflight debut with SpaceX Crew-4, which is currently scheduled to launch in2022, Nelson said. However, nothing has been confirmed.Follow Amy Thompson @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter @Spacedotcom
