Russia to launch new capsule to return space station crew

Russian space company Roscosmos stated Wednesday that it’ll launch a brand new spacecraft to take among the Worldwide Area Station’s crew again to Earth after their capsule was broken and leaked coolant.

Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio arrived on the station in September on board a Soyuz MS-22 and deliberate to make use of the capsule to return to Earth. But it surely leaked coolant final month, leading to increased cabin temperatures.

After analyzing the state of affairs and discussing it with NASA, Roscosmos determined to launch a brand new Soyuz MS-23 capsule in crewless computerized mode on Feb. 20 to take the trio again, Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov instructed reporters.

In case of an emergency on the Worldwide Area Station that might require the evacuation of your entire crew earlier than the brand new capsule arrives, space officers will contemplate whether or not the Soyuz MS-22 may very well be used safely, Borisov stated.

The leak from the Soyuz MS-22 was noticed in December when the Russians had been about to enterprise exterior the station on a deliberate spacewalk and floor specialists noticed a stream of fluid and particles emanating from the Soyuz on a reside video feed from space.

Borisov stated Wednesday that the evaluation confirmed the leak was attributable to a micrometeoroid.

Roscosmos and NASA each have stated the incident hasn’t posed any hazard to the station‘s crew.

Together with Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio, 4 different crew members are at present on the space outpost: NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada; the Japan Aerospace Exploration Company’s Koichi Wakata; and Anna Kikina of Roscosmos.

© 2023 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials might not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.