Russia mulls early return of space station crew after Soyuz capsule leak

Russia's space agency said it is considering a "rescue" plan to send an empty spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) to bring home three crew members ahead of schedule, after their Soyuz capsule sprang a coolant leak while docked to the orbiting outpost. Roscosmos and NASA officials said at a news conference on Thursday they continue to investigate how the coolant line of the capsule's external radiator sustained a tiny puncture last week, just as two cosmonauts were preparing for a routine spacewalk. More

(Source: Reuters - Dec 23)