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Leak on ISS
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'll be easily patched. (and I fact looks like it has been). It's in the orbital module so any outside damage (assuming it's due to orbital debris) should pose no threat to re-entry. But this got me thinking... NASA and the Russians have always treated the Soyuz as lifeboats. But I've never seen any talk of plans for if the Soyuz Descent module was highly damaged (let's say a lot larger than a 2mm leak). Sure, you could probably plug most, but at some size and position, it could make re-entry pretty hairy. 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. -- Greg D. Moore http://greenmountainsoftware.wordpress.com/ CEO QuiCR: Quick, Crowdsourced Responses. http://www.quicr.net IT Disaster Response - https://www.amazon.com/Disaster-Resp...dp/1484221834/ |
#3
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Leak on ISS
"Jeff Findley" wrote in message
... 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. It'll be easily patched. (and I fact looks like it has been). It's in the orbital module so any outside damage (assuming it's due to orbital debris) should pose no threat to re-entry. Agreed. Sine the orbital module is discarded after the reentry burn, it's not that big of an issue. The Soyuz would be fine to use for reentry even if the leak reoccurs. But this got me thinking... NASA and the Russians have always treated the Soyuz as lifeboats. But I've never seen any talk of plans for if the Soyuz Descent module was highly damaged (let's say a lot larger than a 2mm leak). Sure, you could probably plug most, but at some size and position, it could make re-entry pretty hairy. You'd likely shelter in place at ISS and wait for a replacement crew vehicles to bring you back. This was discussed years ago. No one is 100% sure if the current Soyuz could launch and dock with ISS without a crew, but it stands to reason it could since Progress does just 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 has certainly been thinking about this, especially after the Columbia disaster. On the NASA side, I'm sure they've thought more about it than the Russians (again, cultural differences). Jeff I have to admit I hadn't fully read the article I linked to until after posting (I had read a briefer Time.com article though). But, as I've said in the past, heck, worst case, I'd be willing to fly in a Cargo Dragon NOW if need be, up or down.. wouldn't be the most pleasant ride for sure. And given how quickly SpaceX can turn things around and how close they are to launching Crew Dragon... I could see them (and the article touches upon this) rushing to launch. On an unrelated note, this is one reason why as much as I LOVED the book The Martian, I laugh that it has so quickly become outdated in a sense. If something like that happened in today's "history", SpaceX could probably launch even very limited supplies within about 3 months! And try again 3 months later! -- Greg D. Moore http://greenmountainsoftware.wordpress.com/ CEO QuiCR: Quick, Crowdsourced Responses. http://www.quicr.net IT Disaster Response - https://www.amazon.com/Disaster-Resp...dp/1484221834/ |
#4
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Leak on ISS
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 |
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