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Unloading of new Progress docked to ISS delayed due to “toxic smell”

The unloading of cargo from the new Progress freighter that docked to ISS on November 23, 2024 halted immediately after hatch opening because of a “toxic smell” detected by the Russian astronauts.

The crew then proceeded with air leak checks in the docking port, but after opening the hatch between Poisk and Progress, it had to be closed immediately due to toxic smell and possible contamination hazard in the form of droplets, according to communications between the US mission control in Houston and the ISS crew in late hours Moscow Time on November 23.

Various systems aboard the ISS were activated to scrub the station’s atmosphere from possible contamination, while the hatch of the Poisk module leading into the pressurized cargo compartment of the Progress M-29 spacecraft remained closed. In particular, the Trace Contaminant Control Sub-assembly, TCCS, was turned on aboard the US Segment. The Russian crew was also reported donning protective equipment and activating an extra air-scrubbing system aboard the Russian Segment, which operated up to a half an hour.

By the end of today mission controllers from both Russian and the U.S. declared the air cleared and normal, and have begun unloading operations.

The cause remains unexplained.

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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"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

6 comments

  • F

    Well that stinks…

  • Andi

    As oppose to the leak in the other module, which sucks…

  • Blackwing1

    Did anybody check for a leaky bottle of hot-sauce?

    I’ve tried one or two that definitely qualify as “toxic”.

  • pzatchok

    If they are unloading the ship they know what the substance is and more then likely why it was loose in the ship.

    Why not tell us?

  • Mark Sizer

    Because it would make someone a laughing stock.

    How long between packing this stuff up and getting it docked? I would not be surprised at “months” for some stuff. That’s plenty of time for something to start rotting on the ground. A package with a bit of an odor would probably not be noticed on the ground because there are so many other smells wafting about in normal air. It may have even been sealed and lower pressure caused it to burst open (like toiletries in the old, unpressurized airplane holds).

  • wayne

    pzatchok-
    I second that thought.
    Why do they just automatically, instinctively, lie about almost everything?

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