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c0lo [soylentnews.org] writes:

Soyuz coolant leak likely caused by micrometeorite strike on space capsule at International Space Station [abc.net.au]

A coolant leak from a Russian space capsule attached to the International Space Station (ISS) was likely caused by a micrometeorite strike, a Russian space official says.

Russia's space corporation Roscosmos and NASA have both said the incident hasn't posed any danger to the station's crew.

However, the leak prompted a pair of Russian cosmonauts to abort a planned spacewalk earlier on Thursday.

...

As Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin were about to venture outside the station on a planned spacewalk, ground specialists saw a stream of fluid and particles on a live video feed from space, along with a pressure drop on instruments, emanating from the Soyuz capsule.

Mr Prokopyev, Mr Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio used the capsule to arrive at the ISS in September, and it serves as a lifeboat for the crew.

Mr Krikalev said the station's future operations would depend on an assessment of the capsule's condition.

"Decisions about the future flight program will be made on the basis of that analysis," he said.

About 1 minute excerpt from NASA's live channel [space.com] showing the leak (and no sound, hence the dept line)

Original Submission