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Thread: Russia suggests sabotage on the International Space Station

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    United States Avalon Retired Member
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    Default Russia suggests sabotage on the International Space Station

    This story first emerged last week. Cui Bono? If it was intentional (which it certainly looks like) who benefits?



    "When a tiny hole was discovered inside a spacecraft attached to the International Space Station (ISS) last Wednesday, U.S. and Russian authorities initially suspected a micrometeoroid strike. More than 170 million pieces of space debris circle in Earth orbit, and collisions are inevitable.

    Authorities said last week that the leak in the Russian-made Soyuz capsule had led to a small drop in cabin pressure, but the six ISS crew members were at no point in real danger. A sealant was applied Thursday, and cabin pressure returned to normal.

    But the incident's fallout continued this week, after Russian officials who were subsequently tasked with examining the hole concluded that it had been drilled — potentially deliberately. Even the possibility of human interference could prove to be explosive, given that the ISS is one of the last remaining joint projects between Moscow and Washington.

    The station’s crew is currently composed of three Americans, two Russians and one German. Crew members arrive and depart using the Russian capsules; the leaking one had arrived in June. The hole was discovered in a section of the ship not used to transport the crew members, but with the next departure to Earth scheduled for December, any interference could have ripple effects on the space station’s operations.

    Investigators did not specify whether they believed the hole was drilled on Earth or in space, but Russia's Roscosmos space agency did not exclude the possibility of sabotage.

    “There were several attempts at drilling,” Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin was quoted as saying by Russian media outlets.

    “We are checking the Earth version. But there is another version that we do not rule out: deliberate interference in space,” Rogozin said.

    It's not the first time that Russia is speculating about possible sabotage of its space operations.

    Six years ago, Rogozin’s predecessor in the job, Vladimir Popovkin, suggested that foreign powers were responsible for spacecraft launch failures at the time.

    And this week, Russian cosmonaut-turned-lawmaker Maxim Surayev raised the possibility that the hole may have been drilled by a station crew member who “might want to go home,” even though he acknowledged that a Russian production mistake could also not be ruled out. “I wish to God that this is a production defect, although that’s very sad, too — there’s been nothing like this in the history of Soyuz ships.” Russia said it was checking its spacecraft units in construction for similar defects.

    In an emailed statement, NASA said on Wednesday that it “will support the commission's work as appropriate,” referring to Roscosmos' investigatory committee.

    "Our Russian partners have demonstrated their human and technological resilience many times throughout the history of their efforts in human spaceflight. We are confident they will identify the cause of the leak,” NASA said.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...=.2631987b044e

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    UK Avalon Founder Bill Ryan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Russia suggests sabotage on the International Space Station

    Yes, certainly drilled, and from the inside. Here's an enlargement. (Wow.)


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    Default Re: Russia suggests sabotage on the International Space Station

    The hole is in the Soyuz orbital module of the MS09 spacecraft, Alexander Gerst found it. As I understand it & according to Roscosmos & TMRO the hole may have been while the module was situated on Earth

    Skip to 5:20


    Quote Posted by Star Tsar (here)
    TMRO



    Orbit 11:34 | Dave Masten : Masten Aerospace

    Published 1st September 2018

    In this weeks show the TMRO gang host Dave Masten CEO of Masten Aerospace to talk about his fleet of vehicles & His plans to put more than just flags on the moon!

    Plus all this past weeks launches & space/astronomy news.



    Last edited by Star Tsar; 6th September 2018 at 08:53.
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    Default Re: Russia suggests sabotage on the International Space Station

    Maybe related:
    The contract for flights of US astronauts with Russian space capsules to the International Space Station ISS will expire in the coming year, according to Moscow. "Our commitment to bring US astronauts to the ISS and return them to their careers ended with the landing of the Soyuz capsule in April," Deputy Minister Yuri Borisov said on Friday, according to agency Tass.
    The contract could certainly be extended, said a representative of the Russian space organization Roskosmos. "That does not mean we stop the collaboration." There are negotiations for a new contract, but no concrete decisions. There was initially no reaction from the US space agency Nasa.

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    Default Re: Russia suggests sabotage on the International Space Station

    One of the leading theories about the cause of the hole is that it is the result of poor Russian workmanship.i.e. the hole was accidentally created while the ship was being built (note the "wandering" drill scars) and subsequently plugged, but poorly. The plug, according to this theory, recently failed. If true, this scenario could spell trouble for Russian plans to continue to gouge the U.S. for providing "lifts" to the I.S.S. The prices that the U.S. pays for the service have steadily grown, especially after the cancellation of the shuttle program and have gone a long way toward funding the Russian space program.

    from Business Insider

    Click image for larger version

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    A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.

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    Default Re: Russia suggests sabotage on the International Space Station

    Quote Posted by Fellow Aspirant (here)
    One of the leading theories about the cause of the hole is that it is the result of poor Russian workmanship.i.e. the hole was accidentally created while the ship was being built (note the "wandering" drill scars) and subsequently plugged, but poorly. The plug, according to this theory, recently failed. If true, this scenario could spell trouble for Russian plans to continue to gouge the U.S. for providing "lifts" to the I.S.S. The prices that the U.S. pays for the service have steadily grown, especially after the cancellation of the shuttle program and have gone a long way toward funding the Russian space program.

    from Business Insider

    Attachment 39025
    Yes this is what I initially read as well. Apparently there was an investigation and they determined the worker that actually drilled the hole and patched it (poorly apparently) did so accidentally and tried to cover up the mistake to avoid reprimand - but that of course doesn't rule out intentional sabotage either.
    When you are one step ahead of the crowd, you are a genius.
    Two steps ahead, and you are deemed a crackpot.

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    Default Re: Russia suggests sabotage on the International Space Station

    Russia has threatened to take their modules from the ISS around 2020:

    Quote Posted by https://www.themarysue.com/russia-pulling-out-of-iss/
    They’ve threatened it before, but the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) has officially announced that they’ll pull out of the International Space Station in 2024—and they’ll be taking their sections of the station with them.

    International relations on the ISS have been… tense for some time following earthbound conflicts between the U.S. and Russia. Most recently, Roscosmos began talking about building their own space station, and now it looks like they plan to use their portions of the ISS to make that happen. Business Insider reports that the space agency said in a statement that the new, Russian-exclusive space station would be built around “modules separated from the ISS.”

    The good news is that Roscosmos had previously threatened to leave the ISS as early as 2020
    And there have also been reports that Russia may join with China in an alternate space station:

    Quote Posted by http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4383012/Russia-ditch-International-Space-Station-China.html
    Andrei Ionin, chief analyst of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics, told the Russian press that 'the Russian segment of the ISS may separate from the station after 2024'.

    He suggested that China and Russia could join forces to form a rival station to the ISS.

    The space chief revealed that officials were discussing pulling Russian cosmonauts from the ISS when US Space Agency Nasa hands it over to the private sector in 2024.

    'Now is the time when one needs to make a decision about the ISS… For the time being, we are discussing different options, although one should have done it a lot earlier.

    'The space station of the future must also be an international project. Such projects need to be discussed long in advance.

    This sort of sabotage may be expediting a pre-determined flight path. The simplest explanation, given the reported motives, is a form of self-sabotage to justify a need for future autonomy.

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