We know Mr. Putin wants to pursue his own space station, but how about fixing the one Russia is already part of?
Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub conducted a spacewalk this week to investigate the third leak aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Luckily, the source of the leak was found – a 2010 radiator attached to Russia’s Nauka laboratory module.
News reports indicate that Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, is downplaying the leak, noting that it did not impact the primary coolant loop. Roscosmos finished by stating, “the crew and the station are not in any danger.” That’s hopeful, but still a worrisome incident for the aging space station.
A disaster with the $100 billion space station will set back if not kill future funding for similar stations. As with the US space shuttle, the space station could be a passing phase if we cannot keep it running and our astronauts and cosmonauts safe.
Maybe it is time for Russia to go its own way if it is not willing to keep the ISS afloat. I would rather Russia steps up its game, but it may have trouble fighting wars and funding space at the same time.
Note: The US and Russian need to get this fixed so that the focus can return to science. While the ISS crew was searching for leaks this week, China sent another team to its Tiangong space station.
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