Hole in the International Space Station

FenerFan

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So a strange tiny hole was found and repaired on the ISS. On August 30, controllers detected an air pressure loss that was later discovered to be caused by a 2mm hole in the Soyuz capsule which had arrived in June with 3 astronauts.
The strange part is the cause of the hole. The first thought was that it was caused by a micrometeor, but everyone quickly realized the hole was caused from the inside out..
So, the Russians are trying to figure out what the hell happened. A picture of the hole shows what appears to be a drill hole.
In the end, it was never a dangerous situation for the people on the ISS, but it's an interesting little puzzle.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science...tional-space-station-nasa-russia-leak/569692/
 
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Assuming it was sabotage...
And assuming it was meant to stay plucked until the Soyuz was returning to earth (breaking open during re-entry)...

This could have been a perfect crime.
 
There are two holes, and so far they've only discovered the exit one.
 
The drama might have ended there, as it was initially presumed that the breach had been caused by a tiny bit of orbital debris. However, recent Russian news reports have shown that the problem was, in fact, a manufacturing defect. It remains unclear whether the hole was an accidental error or intentional. There is evidence that a technician saw the drilling mistake and covered the hole with glue, which prevented the problem from being detected during a vacuum test.
Click to expand...

Hey, that's how The Three Stooges would have handled it:

Curly: "La la la la la..." [sound of screeching drill bit on metal] "Nyaah-aah-aah!"

Moe: "You idiot, you drilled a hole in the hull! It'll let the air out!" [WHACK!]

Curly: "I'll drill another hole to let the air back in!"

Moe: "Shut up!" [SLAP, BONK, WHAM!]

Larry: "Hey I got some glue that'll plug it up!"

Moe: "Good thinking kid! Slap it on!"
 
The Great Zaganza said:
Assuming it was sabotage...
And assuming it was meant to stay plucked until the Soyuz was returning to earth (breaking open during re-entry)...

This could have been a perfect crime.
Click to expand...

It's in the orbital module, which gets jettisoned prior to reentry.

Finding a way to plug it which could be relied on to pass pressure testing and fail after reaching orbit seems likely beyond a disgruntled worker's research budget. More likely it was an accident during manufacturing that someone covered up rather than be held responsible for. Not to mention the apparent level of skill involved...

With the nearby scratches, it looks like someone might have been drilling something else, with the bit punching through the intended object and chattering across the surface for a few holes and then biting in. It wouldn't be the first time someone got lazy and ended up drilling through something cheap and into something expensive (or painful, for that matter).
 
shemp said:
Hey, that's how The Three Stooges would have handled it:

Curly: "La la la la la..." [sound of screeching drill bit on metal] "Nyaah-aah-aah!"

Moe: "You idiot, you drilled a hole in the hull! It'll let the air out!" [WHACK!]

Curly: "I'll drill another hole to let the air back in!"
Moe: "Shut up!" [SLAP, BONK, WHAM!]

Larry: "Hey I got some glue that'll plug it up!"

Moe: "Good thinking kid! Slap it on!"
Click to expand...

That killed me. :D
 
I think this is definitely a case where "Never attribute to malice anything which can adequately be explained by incompetence" applies.
 
Pixel42 said:
I think this is definitely a case where "Never attribute to malice anything which can adequately be explained by incompetence" applies.
Click to expand...

I'm sure the initial puncture was an accident. But failing to report it and trying to cover it up isn't mere incompetence, though "malice" might be too strong a word. It's certainly dysfunction, and of a particularly Russian type.
 
Ziggurat said:
I'm sure the initial puncture was an accident. But failing to report it and trying to cover it up isn't mere incompetence, though "malice" might be too strong a word. It's certainly dysfunction, and of a particularly Russian type.
Click to expand...

Yes. I suspect that whoever had the accident with the drill might have been afraid of getting disciplined or fired had he reported the accident. As an article that somebody linked earlier pointed out, the hole could have easily been fixed properly by welding. It was a very small hole. Presumably this happened in a metal fabrication shop, so it seems likely that they had the equipment and personnel to give it a quick spot weld, which wouldn't have failed in space.
 
FenerFan said:
So a strange tiny hole was found and repaired on the ISS. On August 30, controllers detected an air pressure loss that was later discovered to be caused by a 2mm hole in the Soyuz capsule which had arrived in June with 3 astronauts.
The strange part is the cause of the hole. The first thought was that it was caused by a micrometeor, but everyone quickly realized the hole was caused from the inside out..
Click to expand...
Huh, an actual inside job.
 
Welding likely would not be a good idea. Generally in this case you take it to engineering. They will prescribe a repair after evaluation of the surrounding structure. If there are no issues with the location of the hole you generally just squeeze a rivet in the hole with sealant or in this case likely a special epoxy.

I might add this is poor quality control, not just poor workmanship. All work is supposed to be looked at and inspected by a second party whose sole job is to scrutinize the work. That way a technician does not have the option to just cover it up with epoxy.
 
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