On the orbit there are American saboteurs

American astronauts are suspected of deliberately damaging the Russian spacecraft Soyuz on the ISS.
12.09.2018
Kommersant
Origin source
American astronauts could deliberately drill a hole in the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft so that one of their sick colleagues could be delivered to Earth as soon as possible. This version, as it became known to Kommersant, is considered as a priority by the special commission of Roskosmos, investigating the causes of depressurization of the spacecraft. Russian specialists have already requested from NASA the data of the astronauts, as well as their current medical indications. If this version is confirmed, then the Russian-American relations in space will be dealt a severe blow.

On the formation of the special commission, which is charged with investigating an abnormal situation related to air leakage from the transport manned spacecraft Soyuz MS-09 (located in the ISS), Kommersant was informed by Roskosmos. They clarified that the specialists, headed by and. about. the first deputy director of the state corporation, Nikolai Sevastyanov, will analyze the information obtained at the first stage of the investigation (it was carried out by representatives of the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia), and also establish new facts that led to the depressurization of the ship. The head of Roskosmos Dmitry Rogozin on the margins of the Eastern Economic Forum told reporters that "the results we received do not give us an objective picture": "The situation was much more complicated than we thought before." From the additional comments in the "Roskosmos" yesterday refused, promising to provide them at the end of the commission.

The incident on the ISS occurred on the night of August 30, when pressure on the ship Soyuz MS-09, docked to the station, began to decline. A microcrack with a size of about 1.5 mm was found in the side compartment. As representatives of Roskosmos told then, in order to determine where the leak is coming from, all six cosmonauts - including the American crew - gathered in the Russian segment. "Then, in turn, the compartments were closed in order to understand where it really happened and what happened. As a result, we localized the problem. It turns out that all this is on the Russian segment, and not on the US, and not on the segment, but on the ship "Soyuz MC", "Dmitry Rogozin specified. Russian cosmonauts proposed to install the patch using sealant and medical gauze. But the commander of the crew, NASA astronaut Andrew Foistel, in turn, during negotiations with Houston and Moscow offered to wait another 24 hours to discuss other options for eliminating the problem, as there was no threat to the life of the crew. But on the evening of the same Thursday, Russian cosmonauts, having received a command from the MCC, nevertheless sealed the hole with a special sealant.

Hotly followed, several versions were put forward: a micrometeorite hit, an industrial marriage (supposedly a hole was drilled still on Earth). On August 30, during the negotiations with the MCC, the astronauts informed the Earth that at the location of the microcrack, which appeared to be traces from the drill, non-obsolete traces of glue were found. According to a source from Kommersant involved in the investigation of the causes of the incident, experts (including a representative of the military acceptance of Energia) consider a not very likely version of a production marriage or negligence in assembling a ship. Relying on the documents raised, a survey of RKK personnel and photographic images sent by Russian cosmonauts, they established: a similar aperture appeared already in space when the ship docked to the ISS. Having studied the nature of the damage, they came to the conclusion that the hole was not formed from the first attempt - around it are several points formed due to a second touch of the drill.

According to the investigators, this could be due to the fact that the drill lacked emphasis (it was not pressured), which is typical for work in airless space. "Our" Union "stands at the module" Dawn "- it's right at the gateway with the American part of the station. Access to our ship is possible only with the permission of our commander, but we can not exclude unauthorized access of Americans, "says a source from Kommersant, who is involved in the work of the ISS. According to him, the MCC gave the Russian crew a command not to allow American specialists to the Russian part of the ISS without the permission of the commander.

The priority version of the Roskosmos Commission will be connected with the deliberate actions of American astronauts who tried to provoke the early dispatch of the ship to Earth due to illness of one of the crew members, a senior Kommersant source said. The urgent evacuation of the whole crew from the station would allow him to continue full treatment, and the household compartment, in which the hole was found, would be burnt at the entrance to the atmosphere. In case of acute medical necessity, Americans will have to pay for a new ship, he says. There are not so many precedents for an emergency interruption of a space mission due to illness of one of the crew members. In 1985, Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Vasyutin concealed from urological issues urological problems and arrived at the orbital station Salyut-7, because of the deterioration of his condition, the entire crew had to return to the Earth ahead of schedule. Now, recall, the ISS has six people: Andrew Foistel, Richard Arnold and Serina Aunyen-Chancellor (all - the USA), Alexander Gerst (Germany), Oleg Artemiev and Sergei Prokopiev (Russia).

Roskosmos has already applied to NASA to assist in the investigation of emergency situations: specialists asked the Americans for copies of the records from the DVR, as well as all the medical indications of the astronauts. The chances of obtaining them are extremely small, since this information is a medical secret, the "Kommersant" official interlocutor confesses: "But if they refuse to help, then some additional questions about their involvement in the incident will be superfluous." If this version finds confirmation, then Russian-American relations in the space industry will not be the most pleasant times, says a Kommersant source close to Roskosmos: "It is very likely that this issue will be discussed at the meeting of Dmitry Rogozin and the head of NASA Jim Brandenstein, which is planned at the Baikonur cosmodrome on October 11 ".

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