{"id":18235,"date":"2018-12-11T23:31:12","date_gmt":"2018-12-11T15:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/russian-spacewalkers-carve-away-at-soyuz-spaceship-to-inspect-plugged-hole\/"},"modified":"2018-12-11T23:31:12","modified_gmt":"2018-12-11T15:31:12","slug":"russian-spacewalkers-carve-away-at-soyuz-spaceship-to-inspect-plugged-hole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/russian-spacewalkers-carve-away-at-soyuz-spaceship-to-inspect-plugged-hole\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian spacewalkers carve away at Soyuz spaceship to inspect plugged hole"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_467820\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-467820\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-467820\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181211-cut-630x369.jpg\" alt=\"Cutting into Soyuz cover\" width=\"630\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181211-cut-630x369.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181211-cut-768x449.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181211-cut-1260x737.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/181211-cut.jpg 1834w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-467820\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko uses a cutting tool to open up the Soyuz spacecraft\u2019s external cover, at bottom, while crewmate Sergey Prokopyev looks on. (NASA TV via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>During an extraordinary spacewalk, two Russian cosmonauts used sharp objects today to cut away layers of protective insulation on a Soyuz capsule and take samples of sealant plugging up a mysterious drill hole.<\/p>\n<p>The hole, measuring just a tenth of an inch wide, was the source of an alarming air leak detected on the International Space Station in August. Soon after discovering the breach, the station\u2019s crew managed to plug the hole in the Soyuz\u2019s habitation module with epoxy and gauze, and the Soyuz has since been judged safe for next week\u2019s return trip to Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Three returning spacefliers will take their seats in a separate area of the Soyuz spacecraft, the descent module, and the habitation module will be jettisoned as usual before atmospheric re-entry.<\/p>\n<p>Russian mission planners scheduled today\u2019s spacewalk to gather evidence from the Soyuz\u2019s exterior, in order to track down the cause of the breach and to determine the best way to make such repairs in the future.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Watch a Spacewalking Cosmonaut Take a Knife to Soyuz Capsule\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CTzJJxArxRY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>During a seven-hour, 45-minute outing, spacewalkers Oleg Kononenko and Sergey Prokopyev made their way from the station\u2019s Pirs docking compartment to the side of the Soyuz with the aid of a Russian-made inspection boom.<\/p>\n<p>They used a knife, a scissors and another tool that looked like a tree trimmer to cut through the Soyuz\u2019s external covering, layers of fluffy insulation and a debris shield. Bits of insulation floated harmlessly into space as the cosmonauts carved away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOleg, be careful. \u2026 please, try to be calm,\u201d Russian Mission Control said.<\/p>\n<p>Several hours into the spacewalk, the Soyuz\u2019s shiny metal hull was finally exposed, with an irregular-shaped squirt of dark sealant sticking up from the surface.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is exactly the hole we\u2019ve been looking for, guys,\u201d Mission Control told the pair.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1072609260759072770&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2018%2Frussian-spacewalkers-carve-away-soyuz-spaceship-inspect-plugged-hole%2F&amp;sessionId=fd730f09e08a7361fecf4d0c8c269b8dd68af374&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1072609260759072770\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782802054690618557=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ladies and Gents, boys and girls. The hole: <\/p>\n<p>Note it is a strange shape as the sealant will have done its job and set around the hole itself. pic.twitter.com\/NF13antFAw<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NSF \u2013 NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) December 11, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The cosmonauts took pictures of the hull and carefully sampled the plug for later inspection, leaving behind a ragged wound in the Soyuz\u2019s insulation layers They also retrieved science experiments from the exterior of the station\u2019s Rassvet module before heading back inside.<\/p>\n<p>Samples and other evidence are due to be brought back to Earth on Dec. 19 with the Soyuz crew, which consists of Prokopyev plus NASA\u2019s&nbsp;Serena Au\u00f1\u00f3n-Chancellor and Germany\u2019s Alexander Gerst.<\/p>\n<p>For a time, there were Russian rumors that the hole was drilled through the hull as a deliberate act of sabotage, but space officials managed to tamp down the conspiracy theories. The investigation is continuing, but the current leading hypothesis is that a worker drilled the hole by accident and then plugged it with sealant. This scenario would suggest that the plug came loose during flight, resulting in the leak.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko uses a cutting tool to open up the Soyuz spacecraft\u2019s external cover, at bottom, while crewmate Sergey Prokopyev looks on. (NASA TV via YouTube) During an extraordinary spacewalk, two Russian cosmonauts used sharp objects today to cut away layers of protective insulation on a Soyuz capsule and take samples of sealant [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[717,190,352,1302,1547],"class_list":["post-18235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-international-space-station","tag-nasa","tag-russia","tag-soyuz","tag-spacewalk"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18235"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18235\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}