Astronauts stuck in the ISS will finally be evacuated


The Russian space agency sends on February 24, 2023 an empty capsule to repatriate three astronauts. They haven’t had any return vehicles since they discovered a leak on a transport ship.

The epilogue of the incident that affected the Soyuz MS-22 capsule is approaching. This week, the Russian space agency is to launch a vehicle to the International Space Station (ISS), whose mission will be to repatriate three astronauts – two Russians and an American – to Earth. Initially expected around February 20, 2023, this mission is now announced for the 24th of this month.

The departure schedule for this vehicle, the Soyuz MS-23, was confirmed to AFP by a spokesman for Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. The slight shift in this schedule is the result of the detection of a coolant leak on the Russian cargo ship Progress, responsible for supplying the International Space Station.

Two leaks on two Russian vessels

This is the second leak of this type that has been detected in the space of a few months on the Russian side. The first, precisely, was spotted on the Soyuz MS-22 last December. It was because of this discovery that the capsule was abandoned to repatriate Dmitry Petelin, Sergei Prokopiev and Frank Rubio. The three astronauts have been on the ISS since September 2022.

Since then, scenarios to bring the three astronauts safely back to Earth have been considered – since their return taxi, the Soyuz MS-22, was no longer considered reliable enough. Besides sending a special shuttle, the Soyuz MS-23, which is the preferred option today, it was considered to call on SpaceX, because its Crew Dragon capsule can accommodate more people.

The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft on the ISS. // Source: NASA Johnson

The Soyuz MS-23 capsule will be sent empty. The incident will disrupt the usual schedule of crew rotations on the Russian side. On the American side, on the other hand, the movements of astronauts are hardly affected. Thus, the takeoff of the Crew-6 mission is still scheduled for February 26. This is what NASA recalled in a situation update on the 17th.

Today, the most plausible explanation for the incident that harmed the Soyuz MS-22 is the collision with a micro-meteorite or a tiny piece of debris. This risk is taken into account in the plans of the space agencies and the astronauts are trained to manage it. Roscosmos said it checked the Soyuz MS-23 very carefully.

The Progress spacecraft separated from the ISS and ended its career in the Pacific Ocean. As for MS-22, it will separate empty from the International Space Station (ISS) and will be sent back to Earth.


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