Head of Russian Space Agency: cause of hole in Soyuz spacecraft to be kept secret
Dmitry Rogozin, director of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said that the agency has figured out how a hole appeared in the lining of its Soyuz-MS-09 spacecraft, but that this information will not be publicized.
“We have taken all the samples. What happened is clear to all of us, but we won’t tell you anything,” Rogozin said at the Youth Orbit conference in Russia.
“We need to have some secrets,” RIA Novosti cites the director as saying.
Rogozin also added that the compartment where the hole appeared “has long since burned up during the ship’s descent”.
At the end of August 2018, a drop in pressure was detected in a Soyuz spacecraft docked with the International Space Station, caused by a hole in the compartment. Roscosmos began an investigation. At the time, Rogozin said that the damage was an act of sabotage, that traces of “attempts to use a drill” had been discovered, and that the American astronauts on the station were likely responsible.