Officials reported that American astronauts on the International Space Station postponed a scheduled spacewalk after a leak was detected on the Soyuz spacecraft. The shift was confirmed as the team worked to assess and address the issue before proceeding with any exterior operations.
In an official update, NASA announced a rescheduled date for the spacewalk. The activity, which had been planned for December 19, was moved to December 21 to allow for careful diagnostics and safety checks, ensuring the crew could perform tasks without compromising the mission or station integrity.
Roscosmos previously provided clarification about onboard conditions, noting that measurements showed a rise in the Soyuz MS-22 cabin temperature to around 50°C at times. Officials stressed that the temperature increase, while notable, was not deemed critical to the operation of life support systems or crew safety. The Russian segment of the ISS is configured to maintain essential temperature regimes for crew comfort and equipment functionality, even as other systems undergo monitoring and potential adjustment.
Further statements indicated that cooling system malfunctions contributed to the elevated temperatures aboard the Soyuz MS-22, which had docked with the station prior to the incident. Investigators highlighted that sustained temperature elevations to around 50°C occurred due to these cooling issues, affecting only parts of the spacecraft rather than the entire complex’s atmosphere.
Officials emphasized that the situation remains under continuous review, with the health and safety of crew members prioritized. Procedures are in place to manage the thermal environment and to safeguard critical systems while work on the Soyuz cooling concerns continues. The space agency and international partners are coordinating closely to determine the full scope of the anomaly and to outline any necessary corrective actions before resuming external operations on the station.