Leak Detected On Another Russian Spacecraft Docked To ISS

A leak has been detected on yet another Russian spacecraft docked to the International Space Station (ISS). The crew is said to be safe.

Roscosmos' uncrewed Progress 83 cargo spacecraft docked to the ISS' Zvezda service module on Feb. 11, just days after its Feb. 9 launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. There were "no issues" with the spacecraft's docking.

However, the Russian Mission Control Center reportedly detected a "depressurization" in the coolant loop of another Roscosmos cargo ship docked to the ISS — the Progress 82, which has been aboard the ISS since October.

The apparent leak didn't seem to affect the ISS or its crew, Roscosmos noted in a statement, as per AP News. The agency said both temperature and pressure are "within norms," adding that "there is no danger to health and safety of the crew."

NASA echoed the same sentiment, saying that the crew is aware of the coolant leak and is going about their normal operations aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Progress 82, also known as Progress MS-21, was scheduled to be deorbited on Feb. 17. Still, both NASA and Roscosmos are reportedly working together to figure out the source of the leak.

"The reason for the loss of coolant in the Progress 82 spacecraft is being investigated," NASA said. "Officials are monitoring all International Space Station systems and are not tracking any other issues."

This is not the first time in recent months that such a leak has occurred. In December 2022, what appeared to be a coolant leak was also detected on the Soyuz spacecraft while cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin were getting ready for a spacewalk. The spacewalk ended up getting canceled, and investigations later confirmed the presence of a 0.8-millimeter hole on the spacecraft.

The Soyuz was supposed to bring Prokopyev and Petelin as well as NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio back to Earth, but it was eventually decided to return without a crew while a new spacecraft would instead bring the astronauts home.

In light of the new leak, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield weighed in on the matter, saying that the source of the leak should be identified soon.

"Two Russian spaceships at the Space Station have leaked all their coolant into space," he wrote in a tweet. "They must figure out why before they launch their rescue ship next week."

The new leak is yet another bump on the road for the aging ISS, the first segment of which was launched in 1998. The first crew resided on it in 2000.