1.
Scratch marks around the hole means that panel was likely not obstructed by anything [but possibly soft material].
Stacked panels is unlikely.
2.
Drill was hand-held - again due to the marks where drill bit was trying to find it's way around.
3.
No any markings from pen/pencil or anything that would show that any kind of measurements were done beforehand. Which means that the hole was not part of any specific fixture/attachment or construction element.
Which strengthens hypothesis that the purpose of the hole was the hole itself. Location and/or precision of the hole was not important as much as the hole itself.
At this point precise inspection is needed to find the tool used as well as determine which person's suit/clothing/outfit/personal belongings (astronaut's or technician) contain the traces of the metal that fall off as a result of the hole drilling effort.
Conclusion that the hole was intended is not likely. The hole has its own drift mark, you can still get a drift mark after punching through your piece. There are 3 drift marks, 3 other bit taps, 2 or 3 more bit taps further back where the panel jig-jogs (this was what they were shooting for in the first place, this dead space where the bit could punch through safely.) Most people that drill a lot of holes in metal have the finesse and dexterity to know when you've punched through a piece. Whoever did this drilling does not have those skills.
When you hand hold a piece like this you rely on gravity and can put your weight down firmly against it so it doesn't move, even after punching through. Much tougher to do in space with no gravity, you need to use the frame itself to push against. If this was done on the ground it would have to be by a complete incompetent or drunk individual to make 8-11 damaging marks on the frame. Secondly in the second photo you see a padding that would partially cover this, it looks undamaged, meaning they lifted this padding for the explicit purpose of using that jig jog dead space in the frame as their 'punch through area.'
Lastly, since I've been in this situation many times, whatever they were drilling through would not fit on the frame in the orientation they needed for some of the holes they were planning on drilling, and thus this is likely why they missed their dead space safety area. The debris from this would now be floating where ever so impossible to use that to determine guilt from clothing. The only thing they can use is either preflight photos (the padding covered most the damage perhaps) or send every drill bit on the station back to earth for analysis; drifting your bit even on aluminum alloy will leave a signature. Correlate that with use records for component replacement times. You're also looking for components with holes in them that don't match the blueprints. When you're on a 'boat' though, sometimes these types of repairs are assumed and undocumented though (especially when you screw up.)
50/50 chance this was an astronaut or a very drunk contractor on ground. The most disturbing evidence here is the drift mark before the hole among the other bit tap marks. It implies the person drilling it did not have mental focus.
> The most disturbing evidence here is the drift mark before the hole among the other bit tap marks. It implies the person drilling it did not have mental focus.
It is possible the drilling was done well away from line of sight, say somebody drilling near the top of the capsule while standing on the acceleration couch after the stack was erected. Tough to control a drill when your arms are near full extension.
That's very possible but it seems that this was just being used as a table to drill upon and not just once but at least 8-11 times. Why would one strain to reach, line of sight or not, to use this as a table when surely some other affordance is closer.
How about two guys, one on the others shoulders, they get up there, find they need to drill a bunch of holes into the component they're trying to install. Now it's more trouble to come down and do it right. "Just hurry up, you're heavy!"
> Which strengthens hypothesis that the purpose of the hole was the hole itself.
Then why did they seal it with glue (that later failed)?
We have established the hole was made very badly, so you can not also say the person making it knew exactly the right kind and amount of glue that would fail at just the right time.
This seems like an accident to me, and someone tried to cover it up.
Which means that the hole was not part of any specific fixture/attachment or construction element.
I wouldn't be so sure about that --- "we need to mount an X, it needs to be roughly in this area", while possibly questionable in space, is not uncommon in other construction. It could be a similar scenario, except whoever was responsible identified the wrong area.
as well as determine which person's suit/clothing/outfit/personal belongings (astronaut's or technician) contain the traces of the metal that fall off as a result of the hole drilling effort
If it was done on the ground during construction, where many holes are drilled, I don't think that would work.
Not sure if the hull has other through holes for mounting stuff, but this one could easily be just that. Someone drilled a hole they thought made sense, it didn't, they sealed it with the wrong material and didn't say anything about it.
I bet every spacecraft has a couple non conformances like that.
I disagree. I would bet they have tooling and jigs to build a Soyuz, and this hole could be the outcome of a poorly clamped and placed jig. Having a jig would explain why they’re using a handheld drill and why there’s no evidence of measurement.
2. Drill was hand-held - again due to the marks where drill bit was trying to find it's way around.
3. No any markings from pen/pencil or anything that would show that any kind of measurements were done beforehand. Which means that the hole was not part of any specific fixture/attachment or construction element.
Which strengthens hypothesis that the purpose of the hole was the hole itself. Location and/or precision of the hole was not important as much as the hole itself.
At this point precise inspection is needed to find the tool used as well as determine which person's suit/clothing/outfit/personal belongings (astronaut's or technician) contain the traces of the metal that fall off as a result of the hole drilling effort.