Russia may expedite launch of next space capsule after leak
Russia's space corporation Roscosmos said Monday that a coolant leak from a Russian space capsule attached to the International Space Station doesn't require evacuation of its crew, but the agency kept open the possibility of launching a replacement capsule, if needed.
Roscosmos said a panel of experts would determine later this month whether the Soyuz MS-22 capsule could be safely used by the crew for its planned return to Earth or if it should be discarded and replaced.
It said the next scheduled launch of a Soyuz was in March but could be expedited, if necessary.
The leak from the Soyuz MS-22 was spotted last week as a pair of Russian cosmonauts were about to venture outside the station on a planned spacewalk. Russian Mission Control aborted the spacewalk when ground specialists saw a stream of fluid and particles emanating from the Soyuz on a live video feed from space.
Roscosmos and NASA both have said the incident hasn't posed any danger to the station's crew.
Roscosmos said the leak might have been caused by a micrometeorite or a piece of space junk striking one of the capsule's external radiators.
The corporation said Monday that the leak caused the temperature in the crew section of the capsule to rise to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). The temperature in the equipment section initially soared to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) but dropped to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) after ground experts switched some of the capsule's systems, Roscosmos said.
Roscosmos said the crew used ventilators in the Russian segment to blow cold air into the capsule to reduce temperature in the cockpit to comfortable levels.
“The increase in temperature on the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft is admissible and isn't
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