NASA would use SpaceX to deliver three space station crew members dependent on the spaceship’s Soyuz to return home, a report suggests.
The Soyuz spacecraft underwent severe cooling at the International Space Station on December 15 and a decision on whether it is safe to return the crew to Earth will come in January, Russia said. If the Soyuz craft support is needed it could only come in February, two or three weeks before the usual change in March.
NASA is apparently considering using SpaceX, the only company currently flying astronauts into space from American soil, as a backup if these options don’t work out.
“We’ve asked SpaceX a few questions about the ability to send additional crew members on board the Dragon if needed, but that’s our primary focus at this time,” NASA spokeswoman Sandra Jones said in a statement to Reuters. (Opens in a new tab)On Wednesday (Dec. 28). SpaceX did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Related: The hole in the Soyuz spacecraft was not from the Geminid meteor
NASA did not clarify with Reuters what the options might be with SpaceX, such as whether the company could send a Dragon crew to collect crews, or land more seats on the existing Dragon (named Endeavor) on the space station.
All the seats in the effort are already full, as it is supposed to bring home Crew-5 in early 2023, including NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina.
The crew, which took off using the Soyuz, named MS-22, includes Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, both of whom traveled to space on the Russian Sokol. Normally, SpaceX only throws crew members that are suitable for custom-made SpaceX spacecraft. It is not known that this matter is overcome by the pronoun.
Related: How SpaceX’s sleek spaceflight changes astronaut behavior from the space shuttle era
The cause of the leak in Soyuz MS-22 has not yet been determined, but it could have originated from space debris or micrometeroids, which could not be investigated due to their small size. Follow up scans of the Soyuz show the opening of the outer radiator.
The ISS crew is in no immediate danger from the situation, but the concern comes if the complex needs to be evacuated for any reason, as for the time being, it is possible for three people to sit home without safety.
Elizabeth Howell is the co-author of “Why Taller? (Opens in a new tab)? ” (ECW Press, 2022; astronaut with Canadian Dave Williams), a book about space medicine. @howellspace (Opens in a new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (Opens in a new tab) or * Facebook (Opens in a new tab).
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