What happened? Here is a summary:
In August 2018, a small air leak was detected in the orbital module of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft docked to the ISS. The leak was quickly sealed by the crew.
During a spacewalk Russian cosmonauts cut into the Soyuz spacecraft’s insulation to examine the hole and collect residue samples for investigation.
The Soyuz spacecraft was thoroughly checked and deemed safe for the scheduled crew return to Earth on December 20, 2018.
Russian media and officials promoted an unsubstantiated theory that a NASA astronaut deliberately drilled the hole to force an evacuation back to Earth.
NASA strongly denied the sabotage accusations against its astronauts, stating they perform their duties with integrity.
As of January 2024, there is still no proof as to what or who caused the hole in the Soyuz. The leading possibilities remain a production defect or micrometeoroid impact.
The claim that a NASA astronaut sabotaged the Soyuz spacecraft in 2018 appears to be Russian speculation without evidence. The cause of the hole remains unclear to this day.
