Astronaut set to fly despite probe of space station hole
The Russian investigation into the source of a hole that caused an air leak on the International Space Station will stretch into November — a full month after the next scheduled flight to the orbiting laboratory.
But NASA astronaut Nick Hague told the Houston Chronicle on Wednesday that he’s received no indication it will impact his October flight.
“I showed up (in Russia) four weeks ago and started training and all the training has been based on” an Oct. 11 launch, Hague said via a live satellite interview. “We’re still marching to that time.”
The leak was discovered Aug. 30 in Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft attached to the space station. The Soyuz has been the only way to ferry astronauts to and from the space station since the space shuttle program was shuttered in 2011.
But the compromised part of the Soyuz does not return to Earth, and the patch astronauts put in last month is holding.
Possible sloppy work
After the hole was discovered, Russia immediately launched an investigation — initially estimated to be completed this month — into how the hole occurred, whether it was intentional and if other Soyuz modules currently in development also have defects.
They initially thought the hole was the result of space debris, but they later said it likely was the result of sloppy drill work, either here or in space.
“It is a matter of honor,” Roscosmos state space corporation head Dmitry Rogozin previously said, “... To find the one responsible for that, to find out whether it was an accidental defect or a deliberate spoilage and where it was done — either on Earth or in space.”
That comment drew ire from NASA astronaut Drew Feustel, who is living on the station. Last week, he told ABC News that it was “a shame and somewhat embarrassing that anybody is wasting any time talking about something that the crew was involved in.”
Nikolai Savostyanov, Roscosmos’ first deputy director general, told state-run news agency TASS on Wednesday that Russia didn’t find any “systematic flaws” in the Soyuz’ production, “which could have led to an accidental damage of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft.”
Their investigation, however, will continue and they plan to use a spacewalk, previously scheduled for Nov. 15, to examine the hole further. During that spacewalk, Russian cosmonauts will examine the hole by removing a layer of thermal isolation, as well as an anti-meteorite shield.
“We have outlined a plan of work,” Savostyanov said. “We plan to gather once in two weeks and complete the commission’s work in late November.”
Rogozin told TASS it’s been more difficult to investigate the incident than initially anticipated.
Rogozin and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine already have discussed the situation, and they plan to meet in Kazakhstan on Oct. 10, the day before Hague’s flight is scheduled to launch.
Training put to use
Hague was in Russia when the hole was discovered and said he watched closely as the crew worked through the procedures of finding and patching the hole.
“It impressed me — I trained with some of them for this exact scenario,” he said. “Watching them work was a thrill, to see them put our training to use. They executed it flawlessly.”
The fact that Russia still has not discovered what caused the hole does not give Hague pause as his own launch day approaches, he added.
“I’ve been over here in (Russia) working side by side with the Russian space program and I can tell you they’re committed to making sure they deliver a safe vehicle and it performs safely,” he said. “Everyone has crew safety in mind, and they’re leaving no stone unturned figuring out what happened.”