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thewayneIf there is one thing that you do not want in a space station, it's unexpected things!
Mid-December, something happened to the Soyuz capsule that was docked. The Russians were preparing for a spacewalk when suddenly one of the capsule's radiators started leaking ammonia coolant, venting it into space. Nothing could be done to stop it, and it continued venting for a few hours until the system completely depressurized and was empty. The space walk was cancelled, though later space walks have gone on.
This doesn't directly affect ISS operations, but does have repercussions. Specifically, there are two spacecraft currently docked at the ISS: the Soyuz and a SpaceX Dragon capsule. They serve two purposes: to return crew at the end of their rotations, and as emergency life boats if something really, really bad happens on the station and an evacuation has to take place.
Well, with no coolant, the Soyuz becomes a trickier operation for bringing people back to Earth. They can't just hop into the Dragon because the Dragon crew suits are custom-made for those astronauts and the Soyuz suit couplings won't work. There's also the problem of no seats for the additional crew. Without the radiator working, if there are people in the Soyuz capsule and it goes through reentry, estimated temperatures inside the capsule will be between 30 and 40 degrees C, possibly higher. Definitely toasty. Then there's the problem of what that will do to all the equipment inside the capsule. And this is modeling by both the Russian space program and NASA.
The Russians decided it wasn't worth it and will be sending up another Soyuz in a few weeks, will de-orbit the current one, and dock the new one. Conveniently, the Soyuz is capable of robotic operation and docking, so that task is pretty simple. They've been sending up unmanned supply capsules for ages. I'm guessing the damaged one will be inspected and repaired and later re-used.
In an actual emergency before the replacement Soyuz capsule arrives, they could put everyone in the Dragon capsule, but that's the least desirable solution. I don't think SpaceX has a second Dragon and lift capacity available right now, and you still have the problem of the custom suits.
https://gizmodo.com/roscosmos-nasa-plan-to-replace-damaged-soyuz-iss-1849975348
https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/russia-will-abandon-soyuz-on-orbit-fly-up-a-new-one-to-bring-crew-home/
Mid-December, something happened to the Soyuz capsule that was docked. The Russians were preparing for a spacewalk when suddenly one of the capsule's radiators started leaking ammonia coolant, venting it into space. Nothing could be done to stop it, and it continued venting for a few hours until the system completely depressurized and was empty. The space walk was cancelled, though later space walks have gone on.
This doesn't directly affect ISS operations, but does have repercussions. Specifically, there are two spacecraft currently docked at the ISS: the Soyuz and a SpaceX Dragon capsule. They serve two purposes: to return crew at the end of their rotations, and as emergency life boats if something really, really bad happens on the station and an evacuation has to take place.
Well, with no coolant, the Soyuz becomes a trickier operation for bringing people back to Earth. They can't just hop into the Dragon because the Dragon crew suits are custom-made for those astronauts and the Soyuz suit couplings won't work. There's also the problem of no seats for the additional crew. Without the radiator working, if there are people in the Soyuz capsule and it goes through reentry, estimated temperatures inside the capsule will be between 30 and 40 degrees C, possibly higher. Definitely toasty. Then there's the problem of what that will do to all the equipment inside the capsule. And this is modeling by both the Russian space program and NASA.
The Russians decided it wasn't worth it and will be sending up another Soyuz in a few weeks, will de-orbit the current one, and dock the new one. Conveniently, the Soyuz is capable of robotic operation and docking, so that task is pretty simple. They've been sending up unmanned supply capsules for ages. I'm guessing the damaged one will be inspected and repaired and later re-used.
In an actual emergency before the replacement Soyuz capsule arrives, they could put everyone in the Dragon capsule, but that's the least desirable solution. I don't think SpaceX has a second Dragon and lift capacity available right now, and you still have the problem of the custom suits.
https://gizmodo.com/roscosmos-nasa-plan-to-replace-damaged-soyuz-iss-1849975348
https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/russia-will-abandon-soyuz-on-orbit-fly-up-a-new-one-to-bring-crew-home/
no subject
Date: 2023-01-15 05:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-15 06:04 am (UTC)The station and the docked spacecraft are multi-layered and will theoretically be able to handle a debris strike - somewhat. The radiator line that was hit, I don't know if that was single tubing, but it kind of sounds like it. If so, bad design. A micrometeoroid - if that is what hit it - is moving at much higher velocity than orbital debris, they're speculating that's what hit it as it would have had to come in at a very odd angle to hit the line, which orbital debris apparently could not have done. I expect they have training and rapid-response patch kits in the event of a hull puncture to the ISS itself, but I've never seen official documentation on it - it'd be interesting to know the specs on it.