Russia: ISS crew go ahead with performing routine tasks, situation on board is calm

International Space Station

ISS, December 16. /TASS/: The Russian crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) continue to carry out their routine tasks, TASS special correspondent, Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitry Petelin, told the media on Friday, adding that the situation on board remained calm and businesslike.

On Thursday, Roscosmos told the media that according to preliminary estimates the outer skin of the instrument and equipment compartment of the Soyuz MS-22 crewed spacecraft had been damaged. Before that the space corporation canceled a spacewalk for technical reasons. As a Mission Control specialist said during a communication session with the cosmonauts, the spacewalk had been canceled due to problems with the thermal control system of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked to the ISS. Inside, the spacecraft remains airtight.

On November 17, 2021, TASS and Roscosmos signed a memorandum of cooperation, according to which the agency's office was opened on the ISS. Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin became the first special correspondent for TASS. His flight lasted 12 days. Oleg Artemyev took over as the agency’s second special correspondent. The current contributor to the TASS news feed from the orbital outpost is Dmitry Petelin.