Russia will send on February 20 a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) to bring three astronauts to Earth, two Russians and one American, after the capsule that was to carry them was damaged.
The Soyuz MS-22 capsule, currently attached to the ISS, registered a spectacular leak of coolant in mid-December. The images clearly showed a jet of particles coming out of the rear of the vehicle.
The Russian space agency (Roscosmos) considered that the state of the device was too uncertain to bring the Russian astronauts Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitri Petelin and the American Frank Rubioand that is why he decided to send another ship, the Soyuz MS-23.
The capsule “it will be launched on February 20, 2023 without passengers” but with material, Roscosmos reported in a statement. The takeoff of this ship was initially scheduled for March 16 to take three other passengers to the ISS.
The return date of the two Russian and American crew members, Originally scheduled for March 28, it was not announced, but its mission was “extended,” Roscosmos said. The damaged capsule will return to Earth without passengers, according to the same source.
But the Russian agency does not rule out the possibility of using the ship to transport passengers in case it happens. “a particularly critical situation” aboard the ISS.
Now, there are seven people on the ISS. Without counting the damaged MS-22, only one rescue vehicle remains, with the capacity to transport four people, in case an evacuation has to be carried out.
An initial assessment of the causes of the coolant leak in mid-December mentioned possible ruptures caused by small meteorites of natural origin, artificial debris in orbit, or material damage.
Roscosmos ruled out any mechanical problem on Wednesday and confirmed that it was due to the impact of a small meteorite. According to the Russian agency, this blow caused a hole of “less than a millimeter in diameter” in a refrigeration pipe.
The ISS is one of the few sectors in which Russia and the United States still cooperate, after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on February 24 and the Western sanctions that followed. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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