According to news on October 10, the Russian Space Agency said on Monday local time that a coolant leak occurred in the Russian "Science" multi-functional experimental module connected to the International Space Station on Monday, and liquid coolant in the spare radiator pipe was sprayed into space. Roscosmos said there was no danger to the seven crew members aboard the International Space Station. A spokesman for NASA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It is reported that this is the third leak of Russian equipment docked with the International Space Station in the past year. In December last year, NASA had to postpone its planned spacewalk because the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that was docked with the International Space Station began to leak coolant. In February this year, a similar leak occurred on the Russian Progress cargo spacecraft docked with the International Space Station.
According to NASA's real-time audio monitoring of the International Space Station, NASA mission controllers working in Houston radioed the International Space Station astronauts on Monday to ask if they could look out the window and observe whether there were snowflake-like objects floating outside the cabin.
One of the astronauts later confirmed, "Yes, the radiator of the Russian Science experimental module is leaking."
The Russian "Science" multifunctional experimental module will be launched in 2021 and docked with the International Space Station. It is the largest module owned by Russia on the station. Roscosmos said the leak was caused by a fault in the external backup radiator circuit of the Science experimental module and that the main cooling circuit was operating normally. NASA Mission Control informed the International Space Station crew on Monday that NASA and Roscosmos are working together to analyze the leak.
The Russian Space Agency attributed the first two leaks to external factors such as micrometeoroids, and NASA also agreed with this statement.