Russia might press felony expenses in 2018 ISS stress leak incident | Engadget

In 2018, astronauts aboard the International Space Station plugged a 2mm “hole” in a Soyuz MS-09 automobile that had docked with the station in June of that yr. While the stress leak by no means posed a direct menace to these aboard, it set off a weird flip of occasions that noticed Russia open an investigation to search out out if the incident was the results of sabotage.

Per an RIA Novosti article noticed by Ars Technica, the nation’s Roscosmos house company lately accomplished its probe of the occasion and despatched the outcomes to Russian legislation enforcement officers, opening the door for them to announce felony expenses. Roscosmos did not’ say something official about the reason for the stress leak, however that hasn’t stopped Russian media from spreading misinformation.

The RIA Novosti article references Russian media studies that allege the opening might have been drilled by NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor, a crew member of the ISS on the time of the incident. Specifically, per Russia’s TASS information company, the nation’s Izvestia newspaper claimed Aunon-Chancellor might have drilled the opening out of a “desire to return to Earth because of a blood clot or a fight with her onboard the International Space Station.” Citing its personal supply, TASS claims “the hole had been drilled in weightlessness by a person not acquainted with the spaceship’s design.”

According to NASA, the likelihood that its astronauts had been concerned in creating the stress leak is non-existent. As Ars Technica notes, NASA knew the situation of all of its astronauts earlier than the leak began and the second it started. None of the US astronauts aboard the ISS on the time of the incident had been close to the Russian compartment the place the Soyuz was docked when it began leaking air. The US shared this info with Russia when Roscosmos started its investigation in 2018.

“These attacks are false and lack any credibility,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson instructed the outlet. “I fully support Serena and stand behind all of our astronauts.” We’ve reached out to NASA for added info.

The accusations come at a time when the connection between NASA and Roscosmos is already fraught. On November fifteenth, Russia conducted an anti-satellite missile test that created a particles discipline that compelled astronauts on the ISS to hunt shelter aboard their spacecraft. The US condemned the trial, accusing the nation of placing everybody aboard the ISS, together with Russian cosmonauts, at risk.