After the Spacewalk at the International Space Station, Two Russian Astronauts and the Soyuz Spacecraft Will Return to the Space Mission
The planned spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts was called off after a leak was found in one of the docking vessels at the International Space Station.
The two Russian cosmonauts and the U.S. astronaut were put into the leaking capsule to go for the spacewalk.
Ground teams at NASA in Houston and at Roscosmos in Moscow are evaluating the potential impacts on the integrity of the Soyuz spacecraft, which is also responsible for bringing them home. The trio is scheduled to return in the capsule in late March.
“The best plan of action tonight was to focus all of our attention to sorting what’s going on exactly with the Soyuz spacecraft and then we’ll regroup tomorrow,” said NASA Chief Flight Director Emily Nelson.
Russian mission controllers asked the cosmonauts on board the space station to photograph at the best resolution possible what appears to be a coolant leak, and instructed the crew to not open certain window shutters on the station. Anna Kikina used the robotic arm to get a closer look at her craft.
Four others are currently on the station: NASA’s Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan’s Koichi Wakata, and Russia’s Anna Kikina. Four peoplearrived on the Dragon capsule on October 5. Up to four crew members are possible in that capsule.
The Leaky Soyuz MS-22 Cargo Ship Mission Cannot Be Reached by an Emergency and it Will Fly Back to Earth
Officials at Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, have opted to delay the launch of a spacecraft meant to replace one deemed not safe enough to transport astronauts after a second vehicle — a cargo ship — sprang a leak on Saturday, according to NASA.
Roscosmos was aiming to launch the MS-23 replacement capsule this month and return cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dimitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio home.
The planned rescue mission was not connected to the leak on Progress 83, but the Russian Mission control center decided to delay the launch of the MS-23 due to the leak on Progress 83.
Russia did not suggest that the issues were related. Rather, Roscosmos reiterated that the leak on the Soyuz MS-22 vehicle occurred when it was dinged by an object in space, which officials previously determined was a micrometeroid.
Russia’s space agency will be launching a mission on Friday that will get two cosmonauts and an American off the International Space Station.
The spacecraft that brought the three crew members to the ISS in the fall later experienced a leak in its radiator cooling loop, and officials from both countries had to develop a new plan to get the trio back to Earth.
Following an investigation into the leak, Roscosmos engineers determined that the craft wouldn’t be viable for a normal return mission to Earth. In case of an emergency, it’s still possible to get it.
Roscosmos announced on Monday that a state commission had issued a permit approving the launch of the replacement ship, the Russian state news agency TASS reported.