Spacewalk planned to test Soyuz hole theoryIn order to confirm the leading hypothesis that the hole aboard Soyuz MS-09 was drilled on the ground, Russian space officials began planning a spacewalk on the exterior of the station.If substantial traces of the sealant can be found on the exterior of the spacecraft, they could help to prove the theory that the hole was drilled from the inside during the production of the spacecraft, but it was then patched up from the exterior side of the spacecraft. The crew found no traces of the sealant inside the module, but an endoscope examination showed what appeared to be scratches from a drill on the internal side of the meteoroid shield confirming the fact of drilling from the inside.According to industry sources, the simulations conducted on the ground indicated that when a generally available sealant (which can be purchased at a regular hardware store), is applied to the hole from the exterior, it could hold up to one atmosphere of pressure difference, industry sources told RussianSpaceWeb.com.The inspection showed that even with the micrometeoroid shielding installed, it might be possible to reach the hole from the exterior of the spacecraft. The meteoroid shielding could also help to cover up the sealant, which otherwise could be detected during the visual inspection of the spacecraft.If the spacewalk is attempted, the cosmonauts would have to get to the Habitation Module, peel off soft thermal layers blanketing the spacecraft and then cut through the meteoroid shielding bordering this section of the spacecraft at a distance of around 1.5 centimeters from its pressurized hull.To access the area of the hole on the exterior of the Soyuz, Russian officials are developing a spacewalk scenario relying on the available Strela boom, GStM, currently stored on the exterior of the Zarya FGB module. The telescopic device can be used to carry a cosmonaut secured to a special anchor at the end of the boom to a location aboard the station otherwise inaccessible to spacewalkers due to lack of railings.On September 14, when starting his pre-flight exam in preparation for launch aboard the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft on October 11, Russian cosmonaut Aleksei Ovchinin re-confirmed first reports dating back to September 8 that he and Sergey Prokopyev would conduct a spacewalk. One of the tasks of the excursion, which could take place in November or December 2018, would be the inspection of the Soyuz. Another spacewalk could be added to the flight plan, if necessary, RIA Novosti reported. There was even apparently talk at Roskosmos of a joint Russian-American spacewalk to ensure the maximum trust among the partners in this politically sensitive investigation.