The head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Borissov, paid tribute on Tuesday to American solidarity during the recent rise in temperature aboard a spacecraft docked at the International Space Station (ISS) after an accidental leak.
“
Say hello to the whole American team, they behaved very dignified in this situation and reached out to help us.
But I hope we will sort this out on our own
,” he said during an exchange with the three cosmonauts on board: Sergei Prokopiev, Dmitri Peteline and Anna Kikina.
"You have set an example for the whole world"
“
I hope this little incident that happened with the temperature regulation system (of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft) has not had an effect on your morale and your composure
,” he said. continued, according to a transcript of the exchange published by Roscosmos.
“
You have set an example to the world of how to work in the most trying and difficult conditions.
I hope that many politicians will learn from this
,” added Yuri Borissov.
The Soyuz MS-22 leak came on Wednesday when Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitry Petelin were preparing for a spacewalk, which was ultimately canceled.
The source of the leak was identified as coming from the Soyuz cooling system, and the liquid was presumably coolant.
Few fields of cooperation still in progress between Moscow and Washington
On Monday, Roscosmos reported that the temperature had "
stabilized
" around 30 degrees Celsius in the Russian capsule.
The agency added that the cause of the leak was being identified and that a special commission should establish whether the spacecraft could be used to bring cosmonauts back to Earth.
If it is impossible to use this capsule, the head of Roscosmos raised the possibility of another spacecraft, the Soyuz MS-23, going to the ISS on “
autopilot
” to pick up the Russian crew.
"
And the Soyuz-22 will also return (to Earth) on autopilot
," Yuri Borissov said in an interview with the Russian television channel Rossia-24.
The ISS is one of the few fields of cooperation still in progress between Moscow and Washington since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, launched on February 24, and the Western sanctions that followed.
