SpaceX Dragon capsule to be 5-person ‘lifeboat’ in event of ISS emergency

January 18, 2023

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A SpaceX Dragon capsule is being modified on orbit to hold an additional astronaut house to Earth if want be.

On Wednesday (Jan. 18), NASA plans to begin shifting company astronaut Frank Rubio’s seat liner from a Russian Soyuz spacecraft over to Endurance, the Dragon spacecraft that is flying SpaceX‘s ongoing Crew-5 mission for NASA.

Each automobiles are docked to the International Space Station (ISS). The Soyuz, often known as MS-22, lost its coolant last month after struggling an obvious micrometeoroid or particles strike and has been deemed unfit to return astronauts to Earth besides in case of emergency. Russia plans to launch an uncrewed Soyuz to the orbiting lab on Feb. 20 to convey the MS-22 crew — Rubio and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin — again all the way down to Earth.

Associated: Hole in leaky Soyuz spacecraft not caused by Geminid meteor

MS-22 might nonetheless be pressed into service as a lifeboat if one thing dangerous occurs to the ISS earlier than the subsequent Soyuz’s arrival, nevertheless. And that is the place the seat-liner transfer is available in: It is safer for MS-22 to hold simply two astronauts down as an alternative of three, given its hobbled state.

“The change permits for elevated crew safety by decreasing the warmth load contained in the MS-22 spacecraft for cosmonauts Prokopyev and Petelin within the occasion of an emergency return to Earth,” NASA officers wrote in an update on Friday (opens in new tab) (Jan. 13).

Endurance launched in October 2022 with simply 4 seats put in, as a result of Crew-5 consists of 4 astronauts — NASA’s Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japanese spaceflyer Koichi Wakata and Russia’s Anna Kikina. However Dragon capsules are designed to hold as much as seven folks, so Endurance has the space to accommodate Rubio as effectively if want be.

MS-22 launched to the ISS in September for a deliberate six-month mission. However Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin will probably find yourself staying in orbit for twice that lengthy.

“The plan is for Frank and Dimitri and Sergey to remain on board for a number of extra months till they arrive house, in all probability [in] late September,” Dina Contella, NASA’s ISS operations integration supervisor, stated throughout a press convention on Tuesday (Jan. 17).

“We’re wanting on the actual timing of that, however at this level, that will be when the car can be deliberate to come back house,” she stated.

The mission extension for the MS-22 crew is defined by the truth that the subsequent Soyuz will launch uncrewed to convey them house. If Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin returned to Earth in March on this new car, the ISS can be understaffed till a crewed Soyuz might be readied for liftoff.

SpaceX’s Crew-6 mission is about to launch subsequent month, carrying 4 extra astronauts to the ISS. However Crew-5 will return to Earth a number of days after the newcomers come aboard.

Mike Wall is the writer of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a e book concerning the seek for alien life. Comply with him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).