Meteorite or space debris could have caused depressurization of Progress and Soyuz docked to ISS - Roscosmos head

MOSCOW. Feb 13 (Interfax) - The damage sustained by the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft and the Progress MS-21 resupply ship, both docked to the International Space Station (ISS), is similar but may have different causes, Roscosmos head Yury Borisov said.

"An emergency commission has been formed. It will analyze all options in a systemic and detailed manner. Though the results of both emergencies are similar, their causes may differ," the Roscosmos press service quoted Borisov as saying.

"If this damage [of the spaceship's covering] is really present, there is a suggestion that it could also have been hit by a meteorite or some space debris," he said.

The photos of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft's covering that were provided by U.S colleagues clearly show a hole caused by some external impact from space, he said.

"We are now taking measures that will allow us to reach it with an optical device and to take a photo of the site of the possible damage sustained by the external covering [of the Progress MS-21 resupply ship]," Borisov said.

Roscosmos on February 11 reported a depressurization of the Progress MS-21 cargo carrier docked to the ISS.