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Russians accuse American astronaut of drilling hole in Soyuz

In several articles published today in the state-run Russian press, the Russians made the accusation that the hole and drilling damage that had been found on an in-orbit Soyuz capsule was put there by an American astronaut.

The first link above notes that while the Russians took a lie detector test, showing they didn’t drill the hole, the Americans refused. A second TASS link argues that their investigation proves that all the drill damage had to been done in orbit, for two reasons. First, they always test the capsule’s intergrity in a vacuum chamber before launch, and would have discovered it then. Second, the nature of the drill damage suggests it was done in zero gravity.

A third link provides an English translation of the more detailed Russian report, which made this direct accusation:

Firstly, the illness of the female astronaut, which is the first known incident of deep vein thrombosis in orbit, and the fact that Serena Maria Auñón-Chancellor had suffered the condition was published in a scientific article only after she had returned to Earth. This could have provoked ‘an acute psychological crisis’, which could have led to attempts by various means to speed up her return to the planet, according to my anonymous source. Secondly, for some reason unknown to Roscosmos, the video camera at the junction of the Russian and American segments was not working at that time. Thirdly, the Americans refused to perform a polygraph examination, while the Russian cosmonauts were polygraphed. Fourthly, Russia never had an opportunity to study the tools and the drill which are aboard the ISS to see if there are any signs of metal shavings from the hull of our ship’s orbital module.

This longer article also makes the claim that, because of the location of some of the drill attempts, whoever did drilling had no knowledge of the Soyuz’s construction.

All this may be true, but it conveniently ignores several very important facts: The one successful drillhole that caused the leak had been patched, which would have prevented any leak during the vacuum tests on the ground. The leak occurred because the patch was not designed to survive the hostile environment of space and eventually failed.

Also, the Russians’ own investigation had found that there was plenty of time on the ground for this sabotage to have occurred, so saying it had to have happened in space is incorrect.

Finally, the claim that the drill damage had to have been done in zero gravity is pure opinion, and hardly evidence.

In other words, it sounds as if the Russians are trying to shift blame from themselves (and an unknown ground worker) to an American astronaut. It is certainly possible that their claims are true, but they seem incredibly implausible. Much more likely would be sabotage on the ground by a very disgruntled Russian worker, routinely underpaid and resentful of the corruption that permeates Roscosmos and all of Russian society.

Such a conclusion however would be beyond embarrassing for the Putin government and the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin. It is far better to place the blame on an American, especially because the end of the U.S.-Russian partnership on ISS is only a few years away.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
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11 comments

  • Jeff Wright

    Oh, that’s rich

  • Matt in AZ

    Man, they’re really vested in burning the bridge completely.

  • Jay

    Dump them. I think the only reason why the Russians are still on the ISS is Biden’s extension of the eviction moratorium.

    Get SpaceX or NG or JAXA to make an all propulsion version of their cargo spacecraft to boost the ISS orbit.

  • john hare

    And short of catching the actual culprit, it cannot be disproven. You can’t prove a negative.

  • Edward

    None of the evidence that the Russians presented is actually evidence that an American did it. Even lie detectors can be fooled.

    But the evidence that I want to see is that the material found inside the hole was available onboard ISS. Unless that is the case, then the hole could not have been drilled on orbit.

  • wayne

    “Russians Don’t Take A Dump, Son, Without A Plan….”
    Hunt For Red October (1990
    https://youtu.be/YULytWUaKR0
    0:45

  • MJMJ

    And the Wuhan virus came from the US Army.

  • pawn

    I was pretty sure the drilling was done in zero g also. From the photos there were gouges and scuffs all around the drill hole where it was obvious that the driller had lost control over the drill multiple times. The patch could have been intentional also so that a leak could be started when someone wanted to and didn’t have to wait for the opportunity to drill.

    It reflects someone who wasn’t all there upstairs with a bizarre motive.

    I agree with the Russians that it’s suspicious that lie detector tests were not given to the American astronauts. Elitism at it’s worst.

  • Blackbutt

    Or maybe the driller was drunk?

  • Col Beausabre

    “I agree with the Russians that it’s suspicious that lie detector tests were not given to the American astronauts.”

    Because even a child would know this is what would have happened.

    Test them on Russian polygraphs “The Americans are lying!”

    Test them on American polygraphs “The Americans are lying about the results!”

    Heads I win, Tails you lose is never a good deal

    “Elitism at it’s worst.”

    No, plain common sense as I’ve shown above. And yes, I think the US is a much better place than Putin’s Russia

  • pzatchok

    Did the leak cause them to send the American down faster?

    If not its just an excuse.

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