Stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) last year because of a leak on their return capsule, three astronauts will return to Earth in September in a Soyuz MS-23 replacement capsule, Russia said on Tuesday (February 21). One of the three astronauts is NASA's Francisco Rubio. Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, the other two, are Russian cosmonauts. They were due to end their mission in March. Two months ago, they were stuck when the cooling system of their Soyuz MS-22 capsule started leaking. "(Their return flight) is now scheduled to take place on Soyuz MS-23 in September 2023," Russian space agency Roscosmos said in its latest update.
Watch: WION Fineprint | Russian Space Agency: Soyuz MS-22 radiator hit by micro meteoroid
Soyuz MS-22 capsule coolant leak
The coolant leak on December 14 on Soyuz MS-22 was believed to have been caused by a micro meteoroid, Roscosmos and NASA earlier said. Joel Montalbano, NASA's space station program manager, insisted last month while talking to reporters: "We're not calling this a rescue Soyuz. I'm calling it a replacement Soyuz. This is the next Soyuz that was scheduled to fly in March. It will just fly a little early." The coolant leak was captured in a stunning video recorded by station cameras, which was shared widely. Docked to the ISS, Soyuz MS-22 was deemed unfit to bring back the three astronauts.
Last week, Russia delayed the launch of MS-23 return capsule, which was initially scheduled for February 20. The capsule launch has now been pushed to March. The delay is reportedly related to a leak on another Russian spacecraft docked with the ISS — the Progress-82 freighter, also known as Progress MS-21. It was launched in late October.
"A commission is working on the Progress MS-21 case. Until the cause of the emergency situation is determined, a decision was made to postpone the launch of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft in unmanned mode until March 2023," Roscosmos wrote in a Telegram post on February 13, space.com reported.
(With agency inputs)
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