Soyuz Failed at Space Station With a Severe Coolant Leak Requiring Backup Options

There has been very little mass media coverage of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft failing while at the International Space Station. The Soyuz had a severe coolant leak. It had already delivered to Russian and an American astronaut.

Imagine if this was a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked at the Space Station. There would be a lot more coverage. It is difficult to find any info at the NASA site.

The Russian spacecraft failure means that either a backup Soyuz operated by the European Space Agency will need to be used or returning astronauts would have to fly on the SpaceX Dragon.

The Soyuz spacecraft on the International Space Station suffered a severe coolant leak on Dec. 15. A decision about whether it is safe to send the crew back to Earth on it will come in January, Russia has said. If a rescue Soyuz craft is needed it could only come in February, two or three weeks before the normal changeover in March.

NASA is apparently considering using SpaceX, the only company currently flying astronauts into space from American soil, as a backup if these options don’t work out.

The cause of the leak is unknown. The current most likely reason is space debris or a micrometeroid hit the radiator where there is a hole.

11 thoughts on “Soyuz Failed at Space Station With a Severe Coolant Leak Requiring Backup Options”

  1. NASA is asking SpaceX for a 7 seat escape option, presumably normal 4 seat with emergency 3 seats (equivalent to Soyuz 3 seat) parked under/behind the front four seats. Dragon was originally going to be a 7 seat design, but NASA did a last minute seat angle adjustment that disallowed 7 seats in a normal configuration.

    The immediate issue is, do they launch a retrofitted crew dragon, or launch a cargo dragon with the necessary retrofit seats and IVA suits to be fitted by astronauts onto the extant crew dragon? SpaceX has the luxury of having a rocket available almost immediately to launch, but launching a reduced manifest cargo dragon on short notice would be a limiter. There’s less of a chance of launching a retrofitted 7 seat crew dragon early due to NASA processing flows making a new one available on short notice difficult, at least compared to sending up the parts with a cargo dragon.

  2. There is no media coverage because China is not involved. Western media only covers negative stories when they can put “China” in the headline

  3. I hope it all works out and no emergent evac is needed from the ISS. Soyuz has had a very good safety record over the years and getting hit by a space rock or other debris doesn’t change that. NASA working together with Roscommon will figure it out. Like the old saying goes. Why can’t we all just get along and work together and shed some suspicion for a while and give it a chance. I can only hope that global domination died with Hitler since it makes no sense and will never work out.
    Jake

  4. In other news, Rogozin, the until-recently head of Roscosmos, was hanging out near the front and took an artillery shell to his borscht.

      • I’m not sure if you’re implying that Rogozin’s artillery story is a coverup for internal injuries sustained during an unfortunate homosexual encounter.

        There are no longer upvotes but you have earned kudos.

      • A “fellow impactor” is kind of unlikely, though, unless the initial hit had been on the ISS itself, and the Soyuz got hit as a secondary result.

Comments are closed.