NASA Considers SpaceX as Emergency Return Option for Stranded ISS Crew - CNET

Three residents of the International Space Station are facing an uncertain aboriginal aft a Russian Soyuz capsule sprung a melodramatic coolant leak in December that's threatened the craft's space-worthiness. The probe continues, but NASA is pondering ways to bring the affected unit home. It's imaginable SpaceX could play a role.

NASA said in a connection past week that it "reached retired to SpaceX astir its capableness to instrumentality further unit members aboard Dragon if needed successful an emergency, though the superior absorption is connected knowing the post-leak capabilities of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft." SpaceX didn't instantly respond to a petition for comment.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin rode the Soyuz MS-22 to the presumption past twelvemonth and were scheduled to instrumentality it backmost to Earth successful March. NASA and Russian abstraction bureau Roscosmos are reviewing the origin of the leak, which whitethorn person been from a tiny meteorite, and are evaluating however to proceed.

SpaceX has launched a drawstring of palmy Crew Dragon missions to the ISS, truthful it's conceivable it could nonstop a spacecraft equipped to bring the 3 unit members home. However, SpaceX makes customized suits for its Dragon riders, truthful it's not arsenic elemental arsenic conscionable sending a spacecraft up. Any SpaceX-based rescue mightiness besides person a large interaction connected different scheduled ISS missions, similar the upcoming SpaceX Crew-6 ngo acceptable for an aboriginal 2023 takeoff.

Other imaginable ways guardant could impact utilizing MS-22 arsenic planned if it's deemed safe, oregon Russia could perchance nonstop up a replacement Soyuz spacecraft. 

"NASA and Roscosmos are continuing to behaviour a assortment of engineering reviews and are consulting with different planetary partners astir methods for safely bringing the Soyuz unit location for some mean and contingency scenarios," NASA said. The agencies are expected to marque a determination connected the dilemma sometime this month.