Are the Russians trying to cover up a potential oversight of incompetence? Or did an American astronaut sabotage a Russian spacecraft to get back home early from her mission?
"All results of the investigation regarding the hole in the habitation module of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft were transmitted to law enforcement officials," Russian space company Roscosmos announced.
It took over two years for them to complete the inquiry. The Russian news agency cites a source who claims the hole was drilled "in weightlessness by a person not acquainted with the spaceship’s design."
Statements like that spark the drama surrounding this situation.
The Russian spaceflight mission Soyuz MS-09 had launched in June of 2018 with a Russian commander and American flight engineer Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor of NASA on board. The original intent of the mission was to dock at the International Space Station (ISS) and do "on-orbit" research there, returning to Earth by the end of the year.
This situation began on the night of August 29th, a few months into the mission. A drop in air pressure was noticed by people on the ground and the discovery of a two millimeter hole was made. The crew, which includes a European Space Agency astronaut, were able to repair the damage with an epoxy solution and continue the rest of their mission as planned.
The issue over what caused the hole is contested between the American and Russian media. Serena Auñón-Chancellor finds herself in the center of accusations of sabotage: foreign outlets cite either a relationship gone bad or a blood clot in Serena’s brain that caused psychological distress.
When it comes to romantic entanglements, Daily Mail cites Auñón-Chancellor as being married at the time of the space mission. However, in Ars Technica’s findings they quote Russian media outlets who claimed Serena wanted to have a relationship with another astronaut anyway.
"These attacks are false and lack any credibility. I fully support Serena and stand behind all of our astronauts," Bill Nelson of NASA told the outlet.
Ars Technica has had a history of pushing back against Russia’s claims in this case. Their strongest argument cites locational data about where exactly US astronauts were on board at the time of the incident. They claim it shows no Americans were near the Russian Soyuz craft.
The USA shared this data with their counterparts. However, with the Russian side confident enough in their case to hand it over to the country’s law enforcement, it’s too soon to tell where this story will go next.
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