Russia is trying to figure out how a tiny hole showed up in its Soyuz spacecraft

Russia’s space agency is currently investigating what caused a small hole to appear in one of the country’s Soyuz spacecraft that’s currently docked at the International Space Station. The opening caused pressurized air to leak out of the vehicle last week. Originally, Russia thought a small meteorite strike might have caused the hole, but now, the country’s space agency believes it was made from inside the Soyuz, possibly with a drill. And Russia isn’t discounting the idea that the hole could have been made intentionally — either on Earth or in space.

“We are considering all the theories,” said Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia’s Roscosmos state space corporation, according to TASS. “The one about a meteorite impact has been rejected because the spaceship’s hull was evidently impacted from inside. However it is too early to say definitely what happened.” Rogozin goes on to say that it looks like the hole was a “technological error” made by a specialist with a “faltering hand.” “There are traces of a drill sliding along the surface,” he said.

Roscosmos has since convened a State Commission to investigate the cause of the hole. Rogozin noted that figuring out its origin was “a matter of honor” and that the investigators would figure out if the hole was the result of a defect or if it was made on purpose. “Now it is essential to see the reason, to learn the name of the one responsible for that. And we will find out, without fail,” he said, according to TASS. NASA declined to comment on the investigation.

ISS Leak summary:
First thought was MMOD strike.
Then NASA released pics. Lots of people: "Hmmm, doesn't look like MMOD". NASA deleted the photos.
Top Russian news site RIA NOVOSTI reported - via sources but apparently confirmed by Mr. Rogozin - it was a drill hole. pic.twitter.com/520kHK0TMc
— Chris B - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) September 3, 2018

NASA and Roscosmos first noticed that pressurized air was leaking out of the ISS around 7PM ET on Wednesday, August 29th. However, the leak was so small that NASA did not even alert the crew until the following morning, opting to let them sleep instead. On Thursday, the crew on board the ISS found the cause of the leak: a 2-millimeter hole inside one of the two visiting Soyuz spacecraft. This particular vehicle has been docked to the space station since June 8th, when it brought NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev, and German astronaut Alexander Gerst to the ISS.

On Thursday, Prokopyev plugged up the hole using epoxy on a gauze wipe, according to NASA. The fix did the trick, and the space station’s cabin pressure has since stabilized. NASA has been monitoring the pressure levels ever since, and the six crew members on board the space station were able to return to a normal schedule on Friday.

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