The start of the mission to recover the three astronauts deprived of spacecraft to return to Earth takes place on the night of February 23 to 24.
The start in a nutshell
- When ? On February 24, 2023, at 1:24 a.m. (Paris time).
- Or ? At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, then in space.
- What ? The departure of a Russian Soyuz MS-23 capsule to the ISS.
What is the mission?
It is an exceptional mission that is looming: the Russian space agency will send an empty space capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) on the night of February 23 to 24. His role ? Serve as a special convoy to repatriate three people (two Russians and one American) to Earth. The ship assigned to this task has been given the designator MS-23.
The mission is extraordinary, because usually astronauts returning to Earth after a six-month stay use a vehicle already docked to the ISS. There is one, the Soyuz MS-22, which was used to transport Dmitry Petelin, Sergei Prokopiev and Frank Rubio in September 2022. Except that in December, an external coolant leak was observed on the gear.
As a result, and after review, it was decided to no longer use this capsule for safety reasons. It was then necessary to consider a fallback option. For a time, there was talk of mobilizing SpaceX and its Crew Dragon capsule, which has a greater payload capacity than the Soyuz — but in the end, it’s sending an empty shuttle, Russian , which was retained.
The three unfortunate astronauts will not immediately return to Earth, even if the Soyuz MS-23 capsule will dock with the ISS in the coming days. As it stands, their mission is extended by about six months, as suggested by the US space agency. Return scheduled for Dmitry Petelin, Sergei Prokopiev and Frank Rubio in September 2023.
When is the departure of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft?
The departure of the mission is scheduled for the night of February 23 to 24, 2023. More precisely, takeoff is announced at 01:24 am, Paris time.
Where to see the Soyuz liftoff live?
The US space agency said it will provide live coverage of key events during the launch and docking of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft to the International Space Station. However, no live streams are announced. Retransmissions are nevertheless promised on YouTube, for example by the channel The Launch Pad.
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