Russia weighs possibility of deliberate act in space station damage
(Reuters) - Russia’s space agency said on Wednesday it hopes to announce the origin of a small hole found on a Russian module docked at the International Space Station in the coming weeks, including addressing whether the damage was deliberate.
Crew members last week found the hole - roughly 2 millimeters in diameter - on the inner wall of Russia’s Soyuz module on the orbital space station after ground operators reported slight dips in pressure levels. The current crew, consisting of three U.S. astronauts, two Russians and one German, were never in any danger, officials said.
Russian cosmonauts patched the puncture with tape and sealant hours after its discovery, temporarily stopping an oxygen leak.
Its origin, however, remains a mystery to U.S. and Russian space officials. Dmitri Rogozin, director of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, said on Monday that a person could have deliberately penetrated the wall using a drill either during manufacturing or while the craft was in orbit.
Rogozin ruled out speculation that the hole was made by impact with a small meteorite.
“There is another version that we are not ruling out; that this was done deliberately in space,” Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Rogozin saying.
He indicated there were “several attempts to use a drill” by an “unsteady hand,” scraping the metal areas surrounding the hole, according to RIA Novosti. “We can cut short the idea that this was a technological mistake made by some specialist or other,” he added.
The Russian space agency said the commission’s investigation will be completed in mid-September.
Roscosmos and RSC Energia, the module’s manufacturer, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), would not comment on the origin of the hole out of concern that doing so would intrude on Russia’s investigation.
“We are confident they will identify the cause of the leak,” Stephanie Schierholz said in an email.
However, she confirmed U.S. astronauts were aiding the investigation to “assess and ensure the safety of all crew members.”
"No one can hear you scream in space...."
For what possible gain would anyone have in sabotaging the ISS?
What would be the purpose of sabotaging the space station? What would lead the Russians to this idea?
I would guess that within both of the Russian/US space programs, there is a desire to keep this sort of thing out of the news. Pride and professionalism of what has been achieved by the major scientific powers kind of makes the ISS an orbiting United Nations. The first module was placed in orbit back in 1998, and the final module has now been up there since 2011. Obviously the technology has proven itself in durability.
I see no gain from sabotage, unless someone wants to take the scientific lead by launching their own station..... China?
Frankly, I have been disappointed in the amount of interest in the space program we have back here in the US. Had things kept up at the rate that they were going at, in the 60's, we would have been to Mars already. Being the daughter of a Grummanite, this pains my dad, too.
As for your theory about China, they are the only country that would benefit from this. China is really the sleeping tiger around the world already. We all are focused on Russia ( and not without reason), but China is buying up ports around the world from countries that have defaulted on debt. Soon they will rule the shipping routes and no one seems to notice. I guess logically, their next goal would be space. They do have plans for a new space station by 2020 and that speaks volumes to me.
I don't think we should waste money trying to set foot on Mars. There is no point to it, imo.
Finding a means to travel deep into space and other worlds without being subject to the effects of relativity might be worthwhile though.
Time on Earth moves FASTER than in space - Mail Online
One of the consequences of living in our universe - where space and time are linked - is that as you travel faster, time can appear to speed up.
The one reason to go to Mars is to see if there is a possibility to set up some kind of self sustaining colony. The moon without atmosphere doesn't have anything with which to work with. Mars does.
Most all of our manufacturing processes involve oxygen. So in order to make what we need on-site rather than carrying construction materials with us (very expensive) we need to be able to generate oxygen.
The Moon Europa is another target for colonization due to free water being located there.
I don't believe there will ever be a large scale human colony on Mars.
It reminds me of many other utopias through the years.
People also we never would go to the moon or have a space station. These are all important steps to terraforming. And I have seen it done on a quite large scare here on Long Island. I think there should always be alternatives.
If we actually go and do this, I am sure that will be the leading question on the colonists minds once they settle in. It may be obvious to most,that it is pointless and burning money by the truckload would be cheaper and actually yield tangible benefits when burned to stay warm on earth.
For others, they would need to live it to discover it is pointless. They will likely just keep hoping that the money and will to make it happen becomes available. Magical Thinking … the way of a mars colony enthusiast.
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There is no point in colonizing Mars. People will give airy hand-waving answers about having an alternative to the Earth so we as a species don't die out through an extinction event, or (more likely) our own stupidity. But that's nonsense.
There is nothing (other than simple exploration) that we can do on Mars that we can't do thousands of times more easily on Earth. There are no more valuable minerals. There is nothing there we need and in fact it is an incredibly hostile environment for human beings. Nobody will ever be able to stand outside and breathe the air (it's too thin, cold and poisonous anyway). They won't ever be able to move around outside without a spacesuit. They will have to live inside artificial environments (probably underground) essentially no different than living in a spacecraft.
How big of a human population do you suppose we could support under those conditions?
A scientific outpost? Sure. We probably will (eventually), but a colony? Nope. Never going to happen.
I think they found out that is frozen oxygen on Europa, I could be wrong though. Either way it would work for our purposes.
Of course it could be like this,
It's the Aborigines.
Deliberate? Baloney. Although to be fair, it would be something that might have to be considered if no other reasonable cause could be determined.
The only way humans are going to ensure their survival as a species is for us to get off this rock.
HEy!!!! Fly!! Where have you been? Long time no see!! Or have I been blind all this time?
Good to see you with us again. You have been missed!!
Been gone about three years. Found a better use of my time than bouncing marbles off of concrete. I've missed you and a few others of course. This is a trial to see what happens. I'm going to try to stick to informative news to try and generate some real conversations. Hope you've been well.
Thanks for coming back to us, I have truly missed your comments and articles. I'm looking forward to some of your real conversations that generate actual informative debate and sharing of thoughts and opinions in a civil and respectful manner.
Lots of new features here on the site, and hope you will find them to your liking. If you need help with anything to get up to speed with the new stuff just give me a yell and I'll be happy to lend a hand.
All on my end been well. Really great to have you back.
Could it be that the Russians are deflecting since they have been suspected in the damage done to our embassy personal.
Howdy Fly, good seeing you again.
Kavika my friend..... Another voice of reason missed!
I'll take any thoughts on this "hole in the spacecraft" as I can't make heads or tails out of it.
I can't either, it doesn't make any sense...As I stated in the above comment it could be a deflection.
Hey Fly, I think it was 9mm with a bb gun.
Colonel Mustard with the candlestick...… ? A very thin candlestick...?
LOL. If I was to really make a guess here I'd have to say it was a piece of space rock too small to spot when it hit the station. I think they were lucky myself.
That's the most obvious answer.... A piece of space junk ranks high too.
It's very chic to stir up the political aspect to churn the headlines though....
Well of course, isn't that what Trump and, his butt buddy Putin are all about.
Please.... Topic.
Sorry, I thought Russia was part of the topic and, Putin is in charge of Russia.
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Someone should send in the Space Force to sort all this out.
That's good for a thumbs up.....
Aren't we going to have to wait till they have uniforms thought?
Nah, send 'em naked.
Best we make sure we sent them with plenty of sunblock and skin moisturizers then....
That will make for a real interesting reapplication time, someone will have to put it on everyones backs.
I would take this as a Chat. if the Moderators can keep themselves in control and not Delete and Mark as " No Value "
1) Drill Drift, from the inside
:: Shows Intent, and as I read it also has an indication of some resin placement shows concealment.
2) Concealment could also be as a " timer " Meaning that one with knowledge would know how long it would take for it to " break Down " and for the leak to be detected.
:: That might indicate a System check " trial run "
Any Sarcastic comments would be ignored! That should limited the " 90% Sarcasm 10% Stupidity " one
That might be asking for a bit much, EA!
E.A With that we are in agreement as I oft said " Moderators tent to be more the problem then the solution! " we shall see
NO Seeds from me can soon also be NO Posts! Little loss right!@
It's our site.... We can make it as good as we want it to be, or it can evolve to a place people want to avoid. Tribalism wins in the latter case.
E.A LOL
If you think so, your responses so far show a little " colour "
Responded to TWO " Non Issues " but not to the Science one, well done, lets see the " No Value " deletion!
I feel that the current moderation is much too restrictive.
Well, about all you did was insult Fly in your post. It could well be deemed as having no value...
Humor is always welcomed on my seeds..... up to the point where it become the first grenade in the political crap-fight that sends everyone back into their trenches.
If we can laugh with each other, it just might be the breather we need towards civility.
My Hillary comment is a perfect example. Sure, it was a political jab, and humor, but it was totally on topic. There was a discussion going on about who may have been behind it and I directly suggested someone. It was deemed both 'off topic' and 'no value.' a 'no value' judgement is entirely subjective and should be scrapped in my opinion. The "off topic' judgement was just flat out wrong. Suggesting a culprit was absolutely on topic.
Russia has a long, loonnnngggg, history -- long before the soviety era -- of playing the "innocent" victim card in order to justify making mischief. Plus ça change, plus la même chose.
I can't argue with your point. It's about as valid as anything else that has been offered.
Including anything you've offered, I trust.