Jeff Findley wrote on Fri, 31 Aug 2018
06:20:18 -0400:
In article ,
says...
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018...airs-continue/
Apparently there's a 2mm leak on-board ISS that's been tracked down to
Soyuz.
I'm sure some folks be all gloom and doom and all, but NASA is very much
treating this as a very minor incident.
It was. The Russians were getting ready to permanently patch it and the
US astronauts were talking to their mission control trying to get them
to convince the Russians that the proposed permanent patch should be
studied for at least 24 hours. In response, the Russians just patched
the hole in their module using some epoxy sealant and medical gauze. It
seems to have worked.
This highlights the cultural difference that the cosmonauts generally
have more autonomy where US astronauts generally have mission control
plan everything out for them and test things on the ground before they
implement even the simplest fixes.
Apparently this is so common in US astronauts that they get worried when
cosmonauts don't do things their way, like patching a (reportedly) 2mm
diameter hole in a Russian module. That's freaking tiny. And 1 atm of
pressure differential isn't that much at all.
NASA likes to have everything tested on the ground to make sure it
works and won't kill anyone. Russians are a little more 'relaxed'
about that.
Years ago, the Soviets had a production rate they probably could just speed
up the next Soyuz launch (and do it uncrewed) but these days, it would
probably be 3+ months.
On the other hand, once Starliner and Dragon 2 come online, there's a lot
more options.
Agreed. And Starliner and Dragon 2 will have more seats, so more
options to launch a "rescue" mission.
NASA will never (according to their current plans) send up more than
three or four people at once, so with seven seats there are always
spare seats (although Boeing is approved to sell 'extra' seats to
'tourists').
--
"Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to
live in the real world."
-- Mary Shafer, NASA Dryden