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Space quarrel: A hole in the spacecraft ignited a confrontation between Russia and the United States
The Russian space agency said that a NASA astronaut drilled a hole in the spacecraft in 2018 because she wanted to return to Earth.
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Thursday, 02 December 2021, 07:53 Updated: 07:55
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(Photo: Official Website, NASA)
The Russian space agency Roscosmos has threatened to file an indictment against NASA astronaut Serena Avnion-Chancellor, who the agency claims drilled a two-millimeter hole in a spacecraft that docked at the International Space Station in 2018. They claim it did so out of a "desire to return to Earth because of a clot. Blood or her fight with another astronaut aboard the International Space Station. "According to NASA, the possibility that her astronauts were involved in creating the pressure leak does not exist.
"These attacks are false and unreliable."
All this, against the background of the United States' claims that about two weeks ago the Russians blew up an old Soviet satellite in space, and as a result of the explosion, debris was created that dispersed and endangered seven astronauts on the International Space Station.
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NASA spacecraft (Photo: AP)
The incident, which the Russian space agency investigated, took place on August 30, 2018, after a pressure drop was detected due to an air leak.
Russian cosmonauts quickly plugged the hole and returned the pressure, arranging it with several layers of epoxy resin - an adhesive-like material.
After the hole was sealed, cosmonauts followed up with a video shot using an endoscope.
A senior Russian official said in September 2018 that the hole appeared to have been pierced using a drill, and was most likely intentionally caused by someone.
In 2019 Russia opened an investigation into the perpetrator of the sabotage, and in August shared the allegations that Avnion-Chancellor, a member of the ISS crew at the time of the incident, was the one who caused the hole.
These allegations have been forwarded to law enforcement authorities in Russia, allowing the agency to declare the possibility of criminal charges.
The newspaper Izvestia quoted sources as saying that Avnion-Chancellor had drilled the hole in the hope that she would be able to return home earlier.
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The Russian media also reported that Avnion-Chancellor wanted to leave the spacecraft due to a blood clot or because she had a fight with her friend on board the ISS. However, while she was in the Union-Chancellor space she was married to Jeff Chancellor - the two are married to this day - so it is not clear who the "boyfriend" was as said by Russian associates. NASA has not yet commented.
Officials at the US space agency say there were multiple holes drilled by someone who did not know the design of the spacecraft and did not help anyone. NASA chief Bill Nelson posted on Twitter in August: "I fully support Serena." Later, photos and further investigation revealed that the hole was created from the inside, which negates space debris as a cause.
The accusation against the astronaut was raised in an article published by the Russian news agency "TASS", in which it was alleged that lies had been "exposed" in America's allegations concerning the incident.
As argued in the article, the damage to the spacecraft could not have been caused while on Earth, as the spacecraft would never have passed such vacuum cell tests, which are essential in flight preparation tests.
"If there were holes in it, then the pressure in this ship would drop immediately and it would not pass the appropriate tests. Thus, Roscosmos immediately ruled out that the damage had occurred on Earth."
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