NASA is considering SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft as a backup option to Russia’s Soyuz ship for a return flight from the International Space Station, following a leak aboard the capsule.
The space agency says the Soyuz spacecraft is leaking liquid particles and potentially coolant while docked on the International Space Station, after it was previously expected to return three crew members to Earth in the new year, reports Reuters.
“We have asked SpaceX a few questions on their capability to return additional crew members on Dragon if necessary, but that is not our prime focus at this time,” NASA spokeswoman Sandra Jones said.
Russian space agency Roscosmos and NASA are currently investigating a punctured coolant line on one of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft’s external radiators.
SpaceX Launches 26th Dragon Resupply Mission to International Space Station https://t.co/3v94aqDhvK
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Now, the agencies must decide how to bring Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dimitri Petelin, and U.S. astronaut Frank Rubio back to Earth, whether using another Soyuz spacecraft or SpaceX’s Dragon.
The specifics of NASA’s request are not clear, and the report says it could range from SpaceX making special arrangements to increase the crew capacity of the Dragon currently docked at the ISS, or if the company would launch an empty capsule for the crew to return in.
The three-person crew arrived in September aboard the now-leaky Soyuz capsule and was previously scheduled to return in March 2023. Russian engineers will decide next Tuesday on how to bring its astronauts back home, with a final decision set for January.
Recently, SpaceX was also hired by the European Space Agency to bypass the use of Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft, following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
