Nasa has responded to speculation about the creation of a small hole discovered on the International Space Station (ISS) by saying that it was “not necessarily” created “intentionally or with malintent”.
The 2mm hole was discovered in a Soyuz capsule on the ISS on 29 August, after it caused a leak leading to a small drop in cabin pressure.
Makeshift repairs carried out by the crew slowed the leak, after they taped over the hole and then used sealant on a cloth to plug it temporarily.
The hole has now been fixed, Nasa said in a statement.
Astronauts first suggested that the gap was caused by a small rock that hit the space station.
But the head of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, rejected the theory.
"We are considering all the theories,” Dmitry Rogozin told Russian news agency TASS. “The one about a meteorite impact has been rejected because the spaceship’s hull was evidently impacted from inside.
“But, it seems to be done by a faltering hand … it is a technological error by a specialist. It was done by a human hand – there are traces of a drill sliding along the surface. We don’t reject any theories.”
Conspiracy theories are spreading online and in the Russian media, alleging that a Nasa astronaut may have created the hole.
Nasa has now been forced to respond to mounting speculation the leak could have been an act of sabotage.
“Russian media recently reported that General Director Rogozin said the hole was not a manufacturing defect,” the organisation said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
“Ruling out a manufacturing defect indicates that this is an isolated issue which does not categorically affect future production.
“This conclusion does not necessarily mean the hole was created intentionally.”
The ISS programme is “tentatively” planning a spacewalk in November to gather more information, the statement added.
