Possible place of damage detected in Soyuz MS-22 assist module - Roscosmos

MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) - Roscosmos specialists have detected a possible location of damage in the assist module of the Soyuz MS-22 spaceship docked with the International Space Station (ISS), the state corporation said.

"A possible place of damage in the spaceship's assist module has been detected by visual materials transmitted to the Earth. Specialists are continuing to analyze the received data," the press service said.

"The temperature has lowered inside the Soyuz MS-22 and remains within normal parameters," it said.

The Soyuz MS-22 exterior was examined on Monday, the press service said.

A decision on how the damage sustained by Soyuz MS-22 should be repaired will be made at the end of December, Roscosmos said, adding that preparations for launching Soyuz MS-23 from Baikonur might be expedited if necessary.

Roscosmos said on December 15 that a spacewalk of Russian cosmonauts had been cancelled at the ISS for technical reasons.

According to Roscosmos Executive Director for Manned Programs Sergei Krikalev, the external radiation circuit of the Soyuz spaceship, latched on to the ISS, depressurized in the course of preparations for the spacewalk. He explained a leak from the ship's cooling system with a possible micrometeorite hit.

According to Krikalev, ground specialists are analyzing consequences of the leak from the ship's assist module and are evaluating its thermal balance. A decision on the further program of the ISS flight will be made once the Soyuz MS-22 status is assessed.

Both Roscosmos and NASA said that all systems of the ISS and the spaceship are working normally, and the crew is safe.

The ISS is currently operated by Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Anna Kikina, NASA astronauts Frank Rubio, Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann, and JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata.