Russia can send empty Soyuz capsule to ISS for stranded astronauts
The Russian space agency Roscosmos, in collaboration with NASA, is examining whether an unmanned Soyuz capsule should be sent to the ISS. Currently, several astronauts cannot return to Earth due to a leak in another capsule.
The space organizations do not yet know whether the leak in the current Soyuz MS-22 is so serious that the astronauts cannot safely return to Earth, according to Roscosmos CEO Sergei Krikalev in a press conference. If the damaged capsule is indeed not suitable for a return journey, an unmanned Soyuz capsule could be launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan. A Soyuz capsule carrying astronauts is scheduled to launch in mid-March, but this could be pushed back to the end of February, with the capsule sent empty to the ISS.
Krikalev states that in that scenario the damaged Soyuz MS-22 could return to Earth without astronauts. It is said that ‘a hole with a diameter of less than a millimeter’ has appeared in the radiator system, from which all the coolant has leaked. This may disrupt the temperature control in the capsule, but with the automatic and analog flight system there would be no problem.
It is not clear what caused the leak. At first it was speculated that it was the result of a small meteorite shower. Both American and Russian authorities contradict this; the direction of the impact would not correspond to the damage in question. The incident is over images captured. The capsule is docked to the ISS, but does not pose any danger to the rest of the space station.
The Soyuz MS-22 carried Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin to the ISS in September this year. The American Frank Rubio was also transported to the space station in this way and the intention is that the capsule will eventually also facilitate the return journey. A SpaceX capsule previously brought the Americans Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, the Japanese Koichi Wakata and the Russian Anna Kikina to the ISS and is also the return vehicle for them.