(NASA Johnson Space Center / https://bit.ly/3K0lXwx)
The Russian cargo spacecraft “Progress MS-21”, which is due to undock from the International Space Station - ISS the next week, has depressurized.
Now the ship is isolated from the station, and nothing threatens the ISS crew.
Progress MS-21 docked to the ISS on October 28, 2022, delivering 2.5 tons of cargo to the station.
The ship took water, food and hygiene products for the crew, fuel for the ISS engines, as well as equipment for experiments on the Russian segment.
On the morning of February 11, 2023, the ship's contour was depressurized.
Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, does not specify whether the accident is related to the internal volume of the ship or to the circuit of the thermoregulation system.
As a result, the ship became unsuitable for the return of astronauts to Earth. It is assumed that the cause of the accident was a micrometeorite.
At present, the ship's passage hatch is closed, and Progress MS-21 is isolated from the rest of the station.
However, the causes of the accident remain unknown.
On February 18, 2023, the ship is to be undocked and scuttled in the ocean.
Sources:
- AP: https://www.ctpost.com/news/world/article/russian-spacecraft-loses-pressure-station-crew-17778382.php
- TASS: https://tass.ru/kosmos/17028091
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