by Demand:
A female NASA astronaut sabotaged the International Space Station
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In 2018, the question of whether a saboteur intentionally drilled a hole into the Russian Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft sparked an investigation led by the Russian space agency, Roscosmos.
Repetitions of the claim were seen on X and Reddit post on the Theory/”Conspiracy” 👀 subthread in August 2023 which claimed that the astronaut was “jealous and paranoid about what her boyfriend was doing back on Earth so she sabotaged[d] the entire space station” (in archive here).
But did that really happen? It depends on who you ask. Russian media have repeated an unfounded rumor that Serena Auñón-Chancellor, a female NASA astronaut, had deliberately drilled a hole in a Russian spacecraft. NASA has publicly disputed the rumor.
Let’s start with the basics.
The Soyuz MS-09 was a Russian rocket sent from Kazakhstan on June 6, 2018. The spacecraft carried three crew members – NASA Chancellor Auñón, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev, and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst – to the International Space Station (ISS) in June as part of a six-month mission that would end on December 20, 2018.
On August 29, 2018, mission ground control in both Houston and Moscow detected signs of a “momentary pressure leak” that resulted in a “slight loss of cabin pressure,” according to updates to the International Space Station Status Blog starting August 30, 2018 (archived here).
The day after the leak, six crew members determined that a two-millimeter hole in the orbital compartment, or upper part, of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft was connected to Russia’s Rassvet module. This is part of the Soyuz that does not return to Earth. Mission Control in Houston and the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow worked with the crew on board to make a repair using “epoxy on gauze to plug the hole.”
The crew was never thought to be in danger and after repairs, they continued their six month mission.
(The hole on the left is shown before it was repaired, as seen in the photo on the right. NASA)
Several Russian media outlets have reported the supposedly anonymous allegation that a crew member in space may have deliberately drilled the hole. According to an article published by the Russian news agency TASS, Roscosmos Space CEO Dmitry Rogozin said at the time:
We are considering all the theories. The meteorite impact head was rejected because the hull of the spacecraft was clearly impacted from the inside. However it is too early to say for sure what happened. But, it seems to be done with a lagering hand … it is a technical error by a specialist. It was made by human hands – there are traces of a sliding drill along the surface. We do not reject any theories.
Energia Rocket and Space Corporation is honored to find the person responsible for that, to find out if it was an accidental fault or a deliberate destruction and where it was done – on Earth or in space. Now it is necessary to see the reason, to learn the name of the one responsible for that. And we will find out, without fail.
NASA and Roscosmos released a joint statement on September 13, 2018, announcing the Russian space agency’s plan to “establish a commission led by Roscosmos to investigate the cause of the leak” and acknowledging speculation “circulating in the media regarding the possible cause of the incident.”
In 2021, Russian media outlet RIA Novosti the investigation was reportedly completed and the findings forwarded to law enforcement officials for next steps.
“Earlier, reports appeared in the Russian media that the American cosmonaut Serina Auñon-Chancellor allegedly drilled the hole in the Soyuz because of suffering after a failed romantic relationship with one of the team members,” wrote the RIA Novosti.
TASS too write in August 2021 that the hole could not have been made while the spacecraft was attached to Earth but that someone had drilled it while in space.
No further details have been provided, and as of this publication, it is not clear that any follow-up actions have been taken.
At the time, NASA again disputed the allegations.
“NASA’s astronauts, including Serena Auñón-Chancellor, are deeply respected in serving their country, and making great contributions to the agency,” said NASA’s Associate Administrator for Space Operations Kathy Leuders written in a post shared by X on August 13, 2021. “We stand behind Serena and her professional conduct. We do not believe there is any credibility to these accusations.”
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson responded to Leuders’ view in a post shared with X on August 13, 2021, writing, ” Totally agree with Kathy’s statement. I fully support Serena and will always stand behind our astronauts.”
I completely agree with Kathy’s statement. I fully support Serena and will always stand behind our astronauts. https://t.co/gBvgFTP5vF
— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) August 13, 2021
“All partners of the International Space Station are committed to mission safety and the well-being of the crew. All International Space Station partners participate in multiple reviews prior to each major station activity to assess and ensure the safety of all crew members,” wrote Brian OdomNASA’s chief historian, in an email to Snopes, adding:
The hole discovered by the space station crew in late August 2018 was quickly sealed, restoring air-tight pressure to the station. Russian cosmonauts made a spacewalk until December to collect additional engineering data for Russian specialists on Earth and to externally observe the effectiveness of the internal repair. The Soyuz spacecraft was thoroughly checked and deemed safe for the crew to return to Earth, which it did, on December 20, 2018. Our NASA crew members perform their missions with professionalism and integrity.
As of January 2024, it is still unclear who or what caused the hole, despite many experts to agree that it was probably due to a manufacturing defect.
Sources:
August 2018 – Space Station. 31 Aug. 2018, https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2018/08/.
“https://Twitter.Com/KathyLueders/Status/1426250198855081985.” X (formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/KathyLueders/status/1426250198855081985 . Accessed 10 January 2024.
“Https://Twitter.Com/SenBillNelson/Status/1426251539035955200.” X (formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/SenBillNelson/status/1426251539035955200 . Accessed 10 January 2024.
“Https://Twitter.Com/Tractor_owner/Status/1731431869781020915.” X (formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/tractor_owner/status/1731431869781020915. Accessed 10 January 2024.
Kathy Lueders, Associate Administrator for Space Operations – NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/people/kathy-lueders-associate-administrator-for-space-operations/. Accessed 10 January 2024.
NASA History Office – NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/history/history-office/. Accessed 10 January 2024.
NASA, Roscosmos Statement on International Space Station Leaks – NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-roscosmos-statement-on-international-space-station-leak/. Accessed 10 January 2024.
Soyuz MS-09 Rocket Launched – NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/soyuz-ms-09-rocket-launched/. Accessed 10 January 2024.
Wallpublished, Mike. “Hole That Caused Leaks in Russian Spacecraft That Could Be Traced to Assembly or Test: Report.” Space.Com6 September 2018, https://www.space.com/41738-soyuz-spacecraft-air-leak-hole-origin-report.html.
New, Р. И. А. “Резултаты правоохранителам о ‘дырке’ and ‘Союзе’ навилали правоохранителам.” RIA Novosti20211126T1033, https://ria.ru/20211126/kosmos-1760833889.html.
https://tass.com/science/1019791. Accessed 10 January 2024.
https://tass.com/science/1325275?utm_source=google.com&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=google.com&utm_referrer=google.com . Accessed 10 January 2024.
