Russian spacecraft in helium leak alert

The Russian Soyuz spacecraft that will return to Earth from the International Space Station this week is leaking helium, Russian space officials said today.

The leak is minor and does not pose any danger, Vera Medvedkova, spokeswoman for Russian Mission Control, said.

The Soyuz TMA-3, which has been in space for six months, is scheduled to return British-born astronaut Michael Foale, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri and European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers of the Netherlands, to Earth on Friday.

“This leak doesn’t present any kind of danger for the landing of this crew, and the landing will be carried out according to plan,” Vladimir Solovyov, the chief of Russia’s Mission Control, said.

The helium is used to pump fuel into the craft’s engine. Solovyov said the leak was found several months ago, but that specialists did not consider it significant enough to delay the landing.

“Similar small leaks of helium have been found earlier in other Soyuz crafts, but they have had no effect on the cosmonauts’ return to Earth,” Solovyov said. “In all similar cases, the landing has been successful.”

Rosaviakosmos, Russia’s space agency, said that the leak was so insignificant that it should not have any effect on the craft.

The US manned space programme has been entirely dependent on Russia’s Soyuz crafts since the grounding of US shuttles following the Columbia disaster in February 2003.