NASA considers asking SpaceX to help rescue stranded astronauts – Metro Puerto Rico

2022 closed with disturbing news: There is a group of Russian astronauts trapped in the International Space Station, and there is no concrete plan to rescue them.

It was inside September 2022 While the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, launched its new space shuttle rocket “Soyuz MS-22”. All under pressure and in the context of a complete crisis of space cooperation due to the invasion of Ukraine by the government of Vladimir Putin.

Eventually, the mission plan became a reality and the crew was able to get to their final destination on a rocket launched from Kazakhstan: International Space Station (ISS).

Everything was going on in apparent order, but at the end of the year it was made public that it had actually been discovered. A serious drawback Due to a refrigerant leak in the fusion module of “Soyuz MS-22”.

Because of this, the entire original mission plan was changed to allow the Russian spacecraft to enter a delicate situation where it could not separate itself from the ISS and the astronauts had no way to return to Earth.

SpaceX is a hidden tragedy with astronauts to the rescue

The coolant leak was mainly caused by a micro meteorite impact which caused damage to the outer casing of the service module.

The situation went relatively unnoticed, but on December 14 the warning system went off while Russian cosmonauts were preparing for a spacewalk.

A pre-departure routine outside the ISS helped detect a severe drop in the pressure of the cooling system. In fact, there are a series of images spread through National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA for its abbreviation in English) can see a jet of white particles escaping into space.

Such a scenario has left everyone, including the ISS crew, stranded in space. Since the removal of the Russian module could affect the complete integrity of the station.

As reported Online space policyOfficials will make final decisions on how to resolve it all by January 2023.

The strongest possibility he’s evaluating so far is asking Elon Musk’s space agency for help. SpaceXSo they use one of their “Crew Dragon” ships to rescue the crew and bring them back to Earth.

“We have asked SpaceX some questions about the ability to bring additional crew aboard their Dragon if needed, but that is not our primary focus at this time.” A NASA spokesperson said.

Currently, the crew of the Russian mission to the space station: Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitry Betlin and Latin American astronaut Frank Rubio.

Also original ISS crew: Russian Anna KikhinaAmericans Nicole Mann Y Josh Cassada And the Japanese Koichi Wakata.