Russian cosmonaut discovers cracks in International Space Station, warns 'could widen'

In major space-related developments, a Russian cosmonaut has discovered new fissures in a portion of the International Space Station (ISS). As per a report by RIA News Agency, astronaut Vladimir Solovyov found cracks in "some places on the Zarya module." He also suggested that the "superficial fissures" could widen in the near future.

Solovyov, who is the chief engineer of the rocket and space corporation Energia, raised concerns over the widening of the newly-discovered cracks. He warned the concerned authorities of an "avalanche" of fragments from the space station after 2025. As per Solovyov, the wearing off of the parts indicated that the ISS equipment has "begun to age."

Glitch in Jet thrusters on the Russian research module

Earlier in July, ISS onboard Russian research module Nauka suffered a technical glitch after it accidentally reignited. The unprecedented event caused 7 crew members to sling out of their normal flight track. As per a NASA report, the flight director declared an emergency after he lost control over the ISS flight for 45 minutes.

Russia to perform two spacewalks

Meanwhile, the Russian crew at the ISS are scheduled for two spacewalks on September 3 and 9. "Two Russian cosmonauts will venture outside the International Space Station Friday, Sept. 3, and Thursday, Sept. 9, to conduct the first pair of up to 11 spacewalks to prepare the new Nauka multipurpose laboratory module for operations in space," NASA said in a statement.

"Novitskiy, who is designated as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1), will wear the Russian Orlan spacesuit with the red stripes. Dubrov will wear the spacesuit with the blue stripes as extravehicular crew member 2 (EV2)," NASA

According to NASA, the first spacewalk, called Russian EVA 49, could last up to seven hours, while the second spacewalk, Russian EVA 50, is scheduled to last about five hours. Talking about the details NASA added, "Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos will exit the Poisk module on the space-facing side of the station’s Russian segment. During the spacewalks, the cosmonauts will install handrails on Nauka and connect power, ethernet, and data cables between the recently arrived module and the Zvezda service module."

"These will be the second and third spacewalks for both cosmonauts; the 242nd and 243rd spacewalks in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades; and the 10th and 11th spacewalks at the station in 2021," NASA

The Russian State Corporation for Space Activities, commonly known as Roscosmos is currently a part of the ISS. The Russian space agency has signed up with the European Space Agency (ESA) to primarily serve as a research facility in the ISS. It will remain a part of the program until 2024.

Image: @roscosmos/Twitter