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Kremlin says 'everything’s under control' on ISS following air leak

Roscosmos' special panel of inquiry is yet uncertain about who might have caused damage to the manned spacecraft Soyuz MS-09
Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft  NASA
Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft
© NASA

MOSCOW, September 17. /TASS/. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said the situation following the air leak from the International Space Station (ISS) is under control.

"This is a question to Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin. Everything is under control there," Peskov said.

A special panel of inquiry created by the Russian space corporation Roscosmos under the company’s first deputy chief Nikolai Sevastyanov still remains uncertain about who might have caused damage to the manned spacecraft Soyuz MS-09 and how, a source in the space rocket industry told TASS earlier on Monday.

Damage to Soyuz hull

A drop in air pressure occurred on the ISS on August 30. The station’s crew examined the ISS compartments and spacecraft attached to it one by one to spot a two-millimeter hole in the hull of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft. It was patched with several layers of epoxy resin. The air pressure returned to normal. On August 31 the crew added another sealant layer.

Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin earlier said the inquiry would last as long as necessary, but "within reasonable limits."

Also, he said the incident had turned far more difficult to investigate and all "competent agencies" were taking part in the work.

Earlier, Rogozin held a telephone conversation with NASA’s chief Jim Bridenstein to agreed that Roscosmos and NASA specialists would be cooperating tightly over the problem of identifying and eliminating the causes of air leaks.

Also, Rogozin and Bridenstein agreed NASA would provide online assistance to the Roscosmos probe into the situation on the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft.