The source called the probable cause of depressurization of the ISS segments
The source named the probable cause of the depressurization of the Russian segments of the ISS
The depressurization of the Progress MS-21 cargo spacecraft, which happened on February 11, most likely occurred due to a violation of the production technology of the Russian segments of the ISS. This was stated to Izvestiya by a source in Roskosmos who is familiar with the situation.
“I suppose we are talking about some kind of deviation from the technology – a slightly different material, a slightly different production conditions, a different operator. Structurally, this unit (thermal control system. – Ed.) has not changed and has served well for many years, so it is unlikely that the problem is in its circuit. I hope that this problem will be solved on the next ships sent into space, ”the interlocutor emphasized.
The depressurization of Progress is the second such incident in less than two months. On December 15, a similar thing happened with Soyuz MS-22. Then the reason was officially called a meteoroid impact on the ship’s hull. However, the interlocutor of Izvestia questioned this version.
“Personally, in my opinion, the probability of such an event is almost zero, but it is impossible to verify and prove it. If it were a meteoroid, it would fly at a tremendous speed, about 30 km / s, and would not stop, but would break through the firmware [in two places] and fly further. And even more so, it is hard to believe that such an event happened twice [in a short period of time],” he said.
The head of Roskosmos, Yuri Borisov, said on February 13 that the emergency commission was “considering all options.” In the meantime, the investigation is underway, the launch to the ISS of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, which is supposed to pick up three cosmonauts from orbit, has been postponed.
