Recently, Russia sent its Nauka module to replace the Pirs module aboard the International Space Station. Just a few hours after the docking, the Nauka module unexpectedly triggered its thrusters sending the ISS into a tailspin. The space laboratory spun by 540 degrees before the situation was brought under control.
Investigation will reveal the truth
Initial indications suggest that the ISS and all its crew members were safe and sound, but now Russian officials say they will be investigating into any possible damage just to be sure, reports Gizmodo. Details are yet to come out but the promise of investigation hints that the incident is still making waves down on Earth.
Both Russian and American officials seem to believe that the ISS is doing fine even after its tumble, during which it was sent off course at about half a degree per second. “Nothing has broken off from the station, I can assure you,” said Sergei Krikalev, director of crewed space programs at Roscosmos. “Specialists will now assess how much we have loaded the station and what the consequences are,” he added, as reported by Russia’s state-operated news outlet TASS.
Is the space station in good shape?
Krikalev also said that many ISS components are fragile and were made to keep them lightweight, so it’s possible that the investigation might find some evidence of strain throughout. Still, both space agencies seem optimistic about the condition of the space laboratory. A NASA spokesperson told Gizmodo that the “station remains in good shape” and that “the astronauts were not in immediate danger.”
The Nauka module took eight days to reach the space station after it was launched on July 22 from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The new module is accompanied by the European Robotic Arm (ERA) that will work with a new Russian airlock to transfer small payloads from inside to the exterior of the ISS. The arm will work similarly to Canadarm2 which is equipped on the US side of the orbiting outpost. The robotic arm packs four cameras that it will leverage to inspect the outside of the ISS.
