Canada is playing a small but critical role in understanding a problem on the International Space Station (ISS). The Canadarm2 has been used to take photos of the mysterious leaks on the Soyuz 22 and Progress 82 spacecraft, helping Roscosmos and others to understand and explain what happened.
Soyuz 22 and Progress 82 Spacecraft Leaks
On December 14th, 2022, astronauts aboard the International Space Station discovered that the Russian Soyuz-22 craft attached to the ISS had developed a leak. As material spewed from the side of the Soyuz, speculation and concern mounted about what had caused it, whether the astronauts might be in danger, and how it would affect the ability of ISS astronauts to return home on schedule.
It was quickly confirmed that the astronauts would be safe, and that a replacement Soyuz would be sent by Roscosmos to retrieve the astronauts, albeit later than they’d planned. Contingency plans were also made for an emergency. The Crew Dragon would carry an extra astronaut, while two Russian cosmonauts would return to earth on the damaged (but still operational) Soyuz. People were still unsure what the leak was, though, or how it’d happened.
On January 11th of 2023, Roscosmos confirmed that an “external impact” had hit the Soyuz craft near its heat radiator, damaging its cooling loop. The material escaping from the module was coolant. The module would be usable, but a return to earth using the Soyuz-22 would be difficult due to the temperatures reached during reentry.
On February 11th, however, a similar issue happened again; the Progress 82 supply ship that was attached to the Station started losing external cooling system pressure. On Tuesday, Roscosmos issued a statement that the ship had experienced an “external influence” (or external impact) just as the Soyuz did. While some are skeptical at the coincidence of the two craft being holed in such similar ways, no official source has contradicted Roscosmos’ explanation.
Canadarm 2
While many Canadians are transfixed by the situation, they may not realize that their own country had played a small but key role in informing these discoveries on the Soyuz and Progress impacts.
In December, Roscosmos said that they would be taking photos of the damage using the “Space Station Remote Manipulator System”(SSRMS)—commonly known as Canadarm2, which was made by Canada’s own MDA in Brampton, Ontario and installed in 2001 during a spacewalk by CSA Astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield.
Working in conjunction with the Dextre “space robot” and the Mobile Base System, the 17m-long Canadarm2 handles many of the maintenance and loading tasks needed aboard the ISS, including “catching” cargo ships and bringing them in. It also played a key role in assembling the ISS, and can “walk” end-over-end around the ISS by having each end of the Canadarm2 attach itself to sequences of grapple points.
In this case, the Canadarm2 was used as a remotely-operated camera. They took photos of the damage, revealing the extent of the damage and how the damage had taken place. While Roscosmos announced their intention to use the SSRMS back in December and announced the findings in January, the images were only released to the public in mid-February after the Progress 82 was also damaged. On February 21st, they also released similar photos of the Progress on their Telegram account, also taken by the Canadarm.
Space enthusiast Raffaele Di Palma’s twitter account showed a photo of the manipulator “now translating on Zarya’s PDGF”, i.e. a grapple point on a module on the Russian side of the ISS. Russian space blogger Katya Pavlushchenko also posted a photo taken by the Canadarm2, published by Roscosmos, of the damage on the Progress. She also posted a short video clip, though it was not from the Canadarm.
A spokesperson at the Canadian Space Agency confirmed that the SSRMS was used for these photos. They acknowledged that “On February 15, Canadarm2 was used to perform a survey of the unpiloted Russian cargo ship Progress 82,” and that “robotics controllers on the ground used Canadarm2’s cameras to gather imagery, critical in helping Station partners fully investigate the cause of the coolant leak.” They also confirmed the earlier use of the Canadarm2, saying that “the 17-metre-long robotic arm inspected the exterior of a Soyuz vehicle docked to the Station in December 2022.”
They CSA spokesperson also said that the Canadarm2 end effector camera was used for the 82 Progress survey, while Dextre was used for the Soyuz 22 survey. And while Roscosmos announced the survey and published the photos, the actual ground operations teams for the survey were a mix of 2 Canadians and one American. The CSA spokesperson said that “this is coincidental, and could have been a different combination of Canadian and American ground operators.” They also said that the Canadarm2 has been attached to that Zarya grapple point several times for previous Russian surveys.
The Canadarm2 was itself hit by debris a few years ago, in 2021. While it’s still functional, it was used to highlight the ongoing issue of space debris, especially the tiny pieces too small to be tracked by current technology that may have penetrated the Russian spacecraft.
The Dextre-Operated Camera and the Canadarm3
Canadarm2 is routinely used for inspection of incoming and outgoing craft, and there are a variety of cameras aboard the arm, aboard the Dextre robot, and aboard the mobile base. They’re due for a big camera upgrade, however, which may assist in future damage inspections.
The “Dextre-Operated Camera,” or DOC, will not only include a high-definition video camera “with powerful LED lights,” it will also include an infrared camera and a 3D mapping laser. Unlike the current cameras, however, it is planned to be “attached to Dextre on an as-needed basis.”
The CSA said that it will be able to “quickly gather images of the Space Station structure, allowing them to measure the extent of the damage.” The DOC is currently being developed by Neptec Design Group in Ottawa, and may become a critical part of station equipment going forward if these incidents become more common. It is slated to launch to the ISS in 2024.
This incident also reinforces the importance of the Canadarm3, which will be part of the coming Lunar Gateway. Currently in development by MDA, it will include three distinct parts: a larger 8.5m arm to be used much like the one on the Canadarm2, a smaller arm intended to “transfer mission-critical material between the interior and exterior of the space station,” and “a set of detachable tools.” Unlike the Canadarm2, the Canadarm3 is being built to be more autonomous, able to handle tasks by itself without human operation. The arms can even repair each other.
Their self-sufficiency and autonomy may become vital to the Gateway. While there is comparatively minimal debris in lunar orbit compared to low Earth orbit, the sheer distance from Earth, and the necessity of autonomous maintenance when the Gateway has new crew, means that the arms may well be the only way to discover and repair any damage, including to the arms themselves.
All this underlines the importance of the work being done by MDA and their partners in creating Canadarm3, so that it can resolve potential crises like this with minimal human assistance.
Editor’s note: We’ve updated the article correcting an earlier version which stated that the Canadarm2 is used in “catching” cargo ships and included the Russian Soyuz Progress. The Canadarm2 does not indeed perform a “cosmic catch,” as the Canadian Space Agency has referred to