- Russia has just sent a new module called Nauka to the International Space Station.
- Rear Nauka docked, It started launching thrusters by mistake-which pushed the entire space station.
- The International Space Station has rotated 45 degrees before NASA can restore it to its original position.
- Check out more stories on the homepage of Business Insider SA.
On Thursday, a new Russian space station module failed after docking with the space station. The module named Nauka accidentally started launching thrusters-which caused the entire space station to lose its position.
The long-awaited science module has encountered several technical problems on its way to the International Space Station, but after docking with the space station on Thursday morning, it seemed to become clear.
But about three hours after it arrived, Nauka began launching thrusters, rotating the space station 45 degrees. Anatoly Zak One of the first people to notice a problem.
“A lot of particles can also be seen outside the space station, indicating a serious propellant leak or gas emissions,” Zach Tweet.
In response to this failure, NASA flight controllers began to launch thrusters on another part of the service module of the International Space Station, which they called “Tug of war“Bring the space station back to normal orbit.
About an hour later, the flight controller of the International Space Station announced that Nauka’s thrusters had finally stopped launching, and the International Space Station regained control of its positioning.
Helium leak may be the culprit of thruster failure
NASA said the sudden loss of control of the station’s direction was “uncommon”, adding that there are still procedures in place to resolve such problems.
According to the flight controller of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the crew of the International Space Station is not in danger, and has never been in danger. Currently, there are two astronauts on the space station, Oleg Nowitzki and Peter Dubrov, and five astronauts.
Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency, Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA entered space with NASA’s Mark Vande Hei on April 23 as the SpaceX Crew-2 mission. Part.
“Of course, it is safe to say that the rest of the day will not proceed as planned,” a flight controller told the astronauts of the International Space Station. The controller asked the astronauts to check the starboard or right side of the station to see if there was any damage or any floating debris on the outside of the station. So far, the astronauts have not reported any problems.
NASA stated that “it’s not clear what caused the wrong engine ignition,” but Zach wrote He confirmed to multiple sources that the Russian mission control center found a helium leak in one or two of Nauka’s tanks, which may include the operation of the thrusters.
The Russian flight controllers later confirmed to NASA that they had disabled the wrong thrusters, which would prevent the incident on Thursday morning from happening again.
Dramatic docking
Nauka, also known as the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM), was originally scheduled to be launched in 2007, but technical problems and unexpected repairs caused a multi-year delay.
The module will expand the Russian side of the International Space Station, adding more scientific facilities, crew quarters and a new spacewalk airlock. It also provides a new docking port for Russian spacecraft.
Even before it docked with the International Space Station, Nauka did not enter orbit smoothly.
Soon after launch on July 21, Nauka began to malfunction, and the Russian mission controller had to instruct the 43-foot-long, 2.5-ton module to launch its backup thruster to return to the course.
After Nauka successfully docked, the two International Space Station astronauts began to check for leaks, and then prepared to open the module’s hatch. They began to integrate the new modules into the power and computer systems of the space station.
“All other space station systems are operating well,” NASA said Thursday afternoon. “None of the other appendages suffered any damage.”
Then, NASA’s flight control team noticed that Nauka’s thrusters were accidentally activated and advised the crew of the International Space Station to close the windows of the space station, Zach reported.
In the next hour, the thrusters rotated the International Space Station by 45 degrees, and then NASA and Russian flight controllers could reverse the process and restore the original orientation of the space station.
Fortunately, the dramatic events of the day did not seem to damage the orbital laboratory or its instruments.
