soyuz_leak_briefing_advisory.jpg (Dec. 3, 2022) --- The International Space Station was orbiting 271 miles above the southern Pacific Ocean when NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Josh Cassada captured this photograph of the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module, the Prichal docking module, and the Soyuz MS-22 crew ship during a spacewalk. Credits: NASA

NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 22, to discuss the ongoing investigation of an external leak that occurred Dec. 14, from the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked to the Rassvet module of the International Space Station.

Live audio of the call will stream on the agency’s website at:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

Briefing participants include:

• Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston
• Sergei Krikalev, executive director, Human Space Flight Programs, Roscosmos

Media interested in participating by phone must contact the Johnson newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the call at: 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov.

The leak was first detected around 7:45 p.m. EST Dec. 14, when pressure sensors in the spacecraft’s cooling loop showed low readings. At the time of the leak, Roscosmos cosmonauts were preparing to conduct a spacewalk. The spacewalk was postponed, so no crew members exited the space station or were exposed to the leaking coolant.

NASA provided an additional inspection of the Soyuz exterior using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm on Dec. 18. Images and data are being analyzed by Roscosmos. The agency also is closely monitoring Soyuz spacecraft temperatures, which remain within acceptable limits. NASA and Roscosmos are continuing to work together on a course of action following the ongoing analysis.

The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft carried NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin into space after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 21.

For updates, follow along on NASA’s space station blog at:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

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Press Contacts

Lora Bleacher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
lora.v.bleacher@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov

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