MOSCOW. Feb 21 (Interfax) - Roscosmos on Tuesday circulated a photo taken from the International Space Station (ISS) and showing the possible site of a coolant leakage from the thermal control system of the Progress MS-21 resupply ship.
The photo, published by Roscosmos on its Telegram channel, shows the damaged place on the instrument and assembly unit of the Progress MS-21. It is also said that the hole is about 12 mm in diameter.
Roscosmos said earlier in the day that external impact was behind the depressurization of the thermal control system of the Progress MS-21 resupply ship, then docked to the ISS, the same cause that was earlier reported in the case of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft.
Roscosmos on February 11 reported a coolant leakage from the thermal control system of the Progress MS-21 cargo carrier, which was docked to the ISS at the time.
Roscosmos Executive Director for Manned Space Programs Sergei Krikalev said that the depressurization of the Progress MS-21 was similar to the Soyuz MS-22 accident in December 2022.
The sinking of the Progress MS-21 was initially set for February 18, but Roscosmos specialists analyzed the photos taken by Russian cosmonauts on board the ISS and found no visual damage on the spacecraft. In this light, the space corporation postponed the sinking of the cargo carrier for further clarification of the reason why it had depressurized.
The main operative team of the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation management subsequently made a decision to deorbit the Progress MS-21 on February 19.