Here's what we know and what we don't know about the damaged Soyuz spacecraft

European robotics The European robotic arm is seen investigating the Soyuz MS-22 after a leak occurred on Wednesday evening. NASA television </figure><p>Since a Soyuz spacecraft began leaking uncontrollably on Wednesday night, flight controllers from Roscosmos, NASA and other International Space Station partners have been studying the data closely of the incident.</p> <p>Although there is no immediate danger to the seven astronauts aboard the space station, this is one of the most serious incidents in the history of the orbiting laboratory, occupied without interruption for almost a quarter of a century. Among the most pressing questions: Can the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft return to Earth safely? If not, when will a replacement, the Soyuz MS-23, be able to be flown? And if there is an emergency, what do the three crew members who have to go home on the MS-22 do?</p> <p>NASA has held no briefings since the incident and only posted a fairly bland update on its blog. But there's a lot going on behind the scenes, and this story will attempt to summarize what's known and what isn't at this time.</p> What is known <p>Roscomos was never able to plug the external cooling loop leak, so the leak only stopped when the coolant ran out. Immediately afterwards, Russian flight controllers attempted to use the European robotic arm, attached to the Russian segment of the station, to observe the rear end of the Soyuz where the leak occurred. This 11-meter arm did not provide conclusive data.</p> <p>As a result, NASA will use the 17.6-meter-long Canadarm2, also known as the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, to take a closer look at the Soyuz spacecraft. It is hoped that this visual inspection, which will likely take place over the weekend, will provide more definitive information about the source of the leak, its cause and whether other elements of the Soyuz spacecraft were damaged. To facilitate this work, NASA will delay a spacewalk scheduled for Monday by astronauts Frank Rubio and Josh Cassada.</p> <p>In other diagnostic work, Roscosmos tested the thrusters of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft early Friday morning to determine if there were any issues with its propulsion system. This test, according to the sources, was nominal.</p> <p>The biggest concern, however, is the overheating of the flight computers aboard the Soyuz spacecraft. They are used to calculate an accurate entry for the Soyuz to ensure it lands in a designated area of ​​Kazakhstan, close to recovery forces. Without the flight computers, the procedure would have to be done manually. This is possible but far from optimal, as the area in which the Soyuz could land would be vast.</p> <p>During the thruster test on Monday morning, the flight computer warmed up, but it did not exceed temperature limits, according to a source. There was a speculative report in the Russian press that the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft had reached an internal temperature of 50 degrees Celsius, but Roscosmos said this was not accurate.</p> What is not known <p>The external cooling loop of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft is now unusable. In effect, this means that a separate cooling loop that keeps the Soyuz interior cool - for the comfort of passengers and avionics - can no longer easily dump heat into space. Because these flight computers are embedded quite deep in the innards of the spacecraft, it is difficult to cool them with the ambient atmosphere of the space station with the hatch open.</p> <p>Right now, the space station is in

Another key question is whether o...

  Technology   Dec 17, 2022   0   64  Add to Reading List
Here's what we know and what we don't know about the damaged Soyuz spacecraft
European robotics The European robotic arm is seen investigating the Soyuz MS-22 after a leak occurred on Wednesday evening. NASA television </figure><p>Since a Soyuz spacecraft began leaking uncontrollably on Wednesday night, flight controllers from Roscosmos, NASA and other International Space Station partners have been studying the data closely of the incident.</p> <p>Although there is no immediate danger to the seven astronauts aboard the space station, this is one of the most serious incidents in the history of the orbiting laboratory, occupied without interruption for almost a quarter of a century. Among the most pressing questions: Can the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft return to Earth safely? If not, when will a replacement, the Soyuz MS-23, be able to be flown? And if there is an emergency, what do the three crew members who have to go home on the MS-22 do?</p> <p>NASA has held no briefings since the incident and only posted a fairly bland update on its blog. But there's a lot going on behind the scenes, and this story will attempt to summarize what's known and what isn't at this time.</p> What is known <p>Roscomos was never able to plug the external cooling loop leak, so the leak only stopped when the coolant ran out. Immediately afterwards, Russian flight controllers attempted to use the European robotic arm, attached to the Russian segment of the station, to observe the rear end of the Soyuz where the leak occurred. This 11-meter arm did not provide conclusive data.</p> <p>As a result, NASA will use the 17.6-meter-long Canadarm2, also known as the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, to take a closer look at the Soyuz spacecraft. It is hoped that this visual inspection, which will likely take place over the weekend, will provide more definitive information about the source of the leak, its cause and whether other elements of the Soyuz spacecraft were damaged. To facilitate this work, NASA will delay a spacewalk scheduled for Monday by astronauts Frank Rubio and Josh Cassada.</p> <p>In other diagnostic work, Roscosmos tested the thrusters of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft early Friday morning to determine if there were any issues with its propulsion system. This test, according to the sources, was nominal.</p> <p>The biggest concern, however, is the overheating of the flight computers aboard the Soyuz spacecraft. They are used to calculate an accurate entry for the Soyuz to ensure it lands in a designated area of ​​Kazakhstan, close to recovery forces. Without the flight computers, the procedure would have to be done manually. This is possible but far from optimal, as the area in which the Soyuz could land would be vast.</p> <p>During the thruster test on Monday morning, the flight computer warmed up, but it did not exceed temperature limits, according to a source. There was a speculative report in the Russian press that the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft had reached an internal temperature of 50 degrees Celsius, but Roscosmos said this was not accurate.</p> What is not known <p>The external cooling loop of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft is now unusable. In effect, this means that a separate cooling loop that keeps the Soyuz interior cool - for the comfort of passengers and avionics - can no longer easily dump heat into space. Because these flight computers are embedded quite deep in the innards of the spacecraft, it is difficult to cool them with the ambient atmosphere of the space station with the hatch open.</p> <p>Right now, the space station is in

Another key question is whether o...

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