Roscosmos and Nasa said it was unclear how the external
radiator on the spacecraft sustained a tiny puncture.
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They have ruled out the impact of a meteor.
The leak started as two cosmonauts were preparing for a
routine spacewalk.
A decision is yet to be made about how exactly the three
crew members will be brought back to Earth.
The most likely option is to send another Soyuz spacecraft
to collect them.
A less likely option is sending them home in the leaky
capsule without most of its coolant, which regulates temperatures inside the
crew compartment of the spacecraft.
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The vehicle - known as MS-22 - flew Russian cosmonauts
Dmitry Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev, as well as Nasa astronaut Frank Rubio, to
the station in September.
But it began spraying coolant into space earlier this month,
with Nasa TV capturing dramatic images of white particles streaming out of the
capsule like snowflakes.
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Joel Montalbano, Nasa's ISS program manager, said late
February would be the most likely time to launch another Soyuz. The crew were
due to return in March.
Nasa says that none of the crew are in danger.
The capsule is currently being vented with air flow allowed
through an open hatch to the space station, Mr Montalbano said.
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The ISS was launched in 1998 and is located about 400 km
from the Earth.
Cosmonauts carry out tests and research at the station that
will help future space missions.
SOURCE:BBCNEWS
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