Russian spacewalk to investigate air leak-causing hole in space station rescheduled for December

Roscosmos state space corporation head Dmitry Rogozin, accompanies new International Space Station crew members, to the rocket prior the launch at the Russian leased Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan in this June 6, 2018, image. Russian news agencies on Tuesday Sept. 4, quoted Rogozin saying that the hole was drilled by an unsteady hand potentially during manufacturing. less Roscosmos state space corporation head Dmitry Rogozin, accompanies new International Space Station crew members, to the rocket prior the launch at the Russian leased Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan in this ... more Photo: Dmitri Lovetsky, STF / Associated Press Photo: Dmitri Lovetsky, STF / Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Russian spacewalk to investigate air leak-causing hole in space station rescheduled for December 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Russian officials say a spacewalk to inspect a hole that caused an air leak in the International Space Station will now take place in December. It had been delayed because of last week's failed launch to the orbiting laboratory.

The hole was discovered in August in a different Soyuz attached to the station. The Russians initially believed it was caused by space debris, but later said it was the result of an errant drill, either on Earth or in space. They have been investigating the matter ever since.

Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin was supposed to conduct a spacewalk to examine the hole in November. Ovchinin was aboard the Russia Soyuz spacecraft last week with NASA astronaut Nick Hague when a rocket booster failure forced an emergency landing.

THE INCIDENT: American, Russian astronauts safe after emergency landing of Soyuz MS-10

The spacewalk was canceled after the aborted launch. But on Wednesday, Sergei Krikalyov, Roscosmos executive director for manned programs, told state-run news agency TASS it was rescheduled for December after the new crew arrives.

"We are planning this during the crew changeover," Krikalyov said. "There are no more specific dates so far."

The aborted launch last week grounded astronauts -- both NASA and otherwise -- until Russian officials determine the cause of the failed rocket booster. They anticipate the investigation will conclude this weekend, but have said the failure occurred when the first and second stages of the rocket collided during separation.

WHY IT HAPPENED: Russians say they know the cause of rocket booster failure

It has been unclear how last week's incident will impact future flights to the space station, but changes have not been made to the current schedule. The rescheduled spacewalk announced Wednesday indicates that Russia expects the next Soyuz launch to happen on schedule.

Since NASA's space shuttle program was shuttered in 2011, the U.S. has relied on Russia to ferry American astronauts to the station. The U.S. has spent billions of dollars on the space station in its 20-year lifetime, but NASA currently has no other way to reach the space station and therefore is grounded until Russia sorts out what happened.

Hague's spacewalk scheduled for Friday also was canceled, though NASA officials have said it will eventually be rescheduled. Hague and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst -- who arrived on the station in June — were supposed to upgrade the station's power systems.

No decisions have been made on Hague and Gerst's second spacewalk, scheduled for Oct. 25.

'WILD RIDE:' NASA astronaut Nick Hague ready to fly again after aborted Soyuz launch last week

Boeing and SpaceX's commercial crew vehicles are expected to have their first test flights in summer 2019. The vehicles, which would eliminate U.S. dependence on Russia for trips to the station, were supposed to be ready this year. And the launch dates could easily slip again.

The aborted launch from Kazakhstan was the fourth major setback for NASA last week. On Oct. 8, the space agency announced that the Hubble Space Telescope was temporarily shut down because of a mechanical failure that crippled the groundbreaking observatory. Two days later, on Oct. 10, NASA's inspector general reported that cost and scheduling problems will likely delay the launch of Orion — the spacecraft being built to take humans back to the moon — past its scheduled mid-2020 liftoff.

That same day, NASA's 19-year-old Chandra X-ray Observatory went dark for an unknown reason. By Monday, however, space agency personnel had traced the problem back to a glitch with one of its gyroscopes, which keeps it pointed accurately for extended periods of time. It will return to normal science operations by next week, NASA said.

The United States funnels a significant amount of money into the space station each year — $1.45 billion in fiscal year 2017 alone, plus the $82 million it pays Russia for each seat on the Soyuz.

It's not clear if the U.S. already has paid Russia for Hague's seat — NASA has repeatedly failed to answer the question.

Alex Stuckey write about NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.