The Russian space agency Roscosmos has published on Telegram the photo of the leak that had opened in the Progress MS-21 cargo on February 14, while it was docked with the International Space Station (ISS), leading to the loss of coolant. The photo was taken during the vehicle’s re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, which occurred as planned on February 19 after its detachment from the ISS, which destroyed it causing the remains to fall into the South Pacific Ocean.
According to Roscosmos, the damage was probably caused by the impact with a micro-meteorite, as in the case of the Soyuz MS-22, also damaged in December 2022 while attached to the Space Station. Indeed, the possibility of a manufacturing defect was ruled out after a check of data from the last 15 years. In any case, the analysis of the information received continues and ground experiments are also planned to make simulations on the possible dynamics of the events causing the leak.
The Russian space agency confirms the launch of the emergency Soyuz MS-23 for February 24, initially scheduled for February 20 and then postponed precisely because of the unforeseen event involving the Progress cargo. The shuttle, which is to replace the other damaged Soyuz, will dock with the ISS on February 26 to bring Russian astronauts Dimitri Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev back to Earth, together with the American Frank Rubio.
Source: Ansa
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