Russia's Soyuz MS 22 capsule suffers coolant leak in space

A planned spacewalk aboard the International Space Station on the evening of Dec. 14 involving cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin was canceled due to a coolant leak aboard the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft.

The leak began around 7:45 PM EST on Dec. 14 (00:45 UTC on Dec. 15) when controllers in both Houston and Moscow noticed a visible leak coming from the instrument module on the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft. Teams also received an indication noting low pressure in the coolant loop aboard Soyuz MS-22.

At the beginning of NASA TV coverage of the spacewalk around 9:00 PM EST, the leak had become increasingly visible on station cameras, with frozen coolant streaming out of the Soyuz MS-22 instrument module. The leak would continue to go on for at least the next few hours.

During the initial stages of the leak, both Prokopyev and Petelin, suited up inside their Orlan spacesuits, were completing preparations inside the Poisk module for the planned Russian EVA-56 spacewalk. At the time, the Poisk module was depressurizing for the subsequent planned exterior hatch opening.

The event played out during NASA TV’s planned coverage of the spacewalk, with NASA’s Public Affairs Officer Rob Navias commentating.