Here’s what we know, and what we don’t, about the damaged Soyuz spacecraft

Enlarge / The European robotic arm is seen investigating Soyuz MS-22 after a leak occurred Wednesday night. (credit: NASA TV)

Since a Soyuz spacecraft began to leak coolant uncontrollably on Wednesday night, flight controllers at Roscosmos, NASA, and other International Space Station partners have been closely studying data from the incident.

Although there is no immediate danger to the seven astronauts on board the space station, this is one of the most serious incidents in the history of the orbiting laboratory, which has been continuously occupied for nearly a quarter of a century. Among the most pressing questions: Is the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft safe to fly back to Earth? If not, when can a replacement, Soyuz MS-23, be flown up? And if there is an emergency, what do the three crew members slated to fly home on MS-22 do in the meantime?

NASA has not held any briefings since the incident and has only released a fairly bland update on its blog. But there is a lot happening behind the scenes, and this story will attempt to summarize what is known—and what is not—at this time.

Read 11 remaining paragraphs | Comments