Russia's MS-23 Soyuz Spacecraft Arrives at ISS to Bring Cosmonauts, Astronauts on Earth

Inno Flores, Tech Times 27 February 2023, 02:02 am

Russia's Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft has docked at the International Space Station and lifted off from Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. This will bring back cosmonauts and astronauts to Earth.

(Photo : NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images)
The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft carrying the crew of Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio blasts off to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Moscow-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 21, 2022.

Replacement for MS-22

A replacement spacecraft for three International Space Station astronauts arrived at the station on Saturday, February 25th. Engadget reported that Russia's Soyuz MS-23 is sent to bring cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio back to Earth.

"Today at 03:58 Moscow time (00:58 GMT), the Soyuz MS-23 unmanned spacecraft docked to the Poisk module of the International Space Station in automatic mode," Roscomos stated. Chief Executive Officer Yuri Borisov stated that the next spacewalk of the Russian cosmonauts will take place in April or May.

The three astronauts had been due to end their mission in March, however, they were left stuck in space after the Soyus MS-22 capsule's cooling system started to leak in December after a micrometeoroid strike.

This incident put Roscosmos and NASA in a tricky spot. Authorities decided that it would be too unsafe to return NASA's Rubio and Roscosmos' Petelin and Prokopyev on their damaged Soyuz next month.

The temperature in the cabin would rise throughout the return to Earth without the coolant, which may potentially harm computers and other equipment. Aside from these, the crew would also be exposed to extreme heat.

Based on a report from Reuters, the replacement spacecraft carried 428 kilograms or 956 lbs of additional cargo to the station that is needed to extend the mission of the astronauts.

Also Read: Russian Cargo Ship Delivers Food, Supplies, Experiments to the ISS

Supposed Contingency Plans

Both agencies prepared emergency preparations. Space.com reported that Rubio is supposed to transition to a SpaceX crew capsule that is docked at the space station until the replacement arrives.

Meanwhile, Prokopyev and Petelin are still assigned to their damaged spacecraft. As per Russian engineers, one fewer passenger would help the spacecraft to keep the temperature at a potentially acceptable level.

Fortunately, they were not forced to put that plan to the test because of the replacement spacecraft Soyuz MS-23. Originally, this was scheduled to launch later this year with people on board. With MS-23 being safely docked with the ISS, SpaceX's William Gerstenmaier said that the three astronauts will remain at the space station until at least September.

The damaged spacecraft will land on Earth by the end of March without anyone on board. Engineers would examine and inspect it once it arrives. This was loaded with garbage and left adrift over the weekend once it burned up in the sky as intended.