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Russian house company Roscosmos stated on Tuesday the three astronauts who had been left stranded by a stress leak of their return capsule final yr will be capable to return on the Soyuz MS-23 substitute capsule in September.
Russian cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin and Sergei Prokopyev and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio flew to the ISS in September 2022 aboard a Soyuz MS-22 capsule.
They had been scheduled to return residence in the identical spacecraft, nevertheless it started leaking coolant in mid-December after being hit by what US and Russian house officers imagine was a tiny house rock.
Russia plans to ship a rescue ship, a Soyuz MS-23, on February 24.
Earlier than the leak, the trio had been as a result of return to Earth on March 28, 2023.
However on Tuesday, Russia’s Roscosmos house company stated in an announcement that their return “in the meanwhile is scheduled to happen aboard the Soyuz MS-23 in September, 2023.”
Roscosmos stated the prolonged house keep — usually ISS missions final six months — posed no well being dangers for the crew, including that they’d taken the information of their mission extending “positively.”
In 2021, Russia’s Pyotr Dubrov and the US’s Mark Vande additionally spent a yr on the ISS after their mission was prolonged, it stated.
The launch of the rescue Soyuz capsule was itself postponed earlier this month after one other vessel — a Russian provide ship docked on the ISS, the Progress MS-21 — had additionally leaked coolant, sparking concern.
On Tuesday Roscosmos stated that specific leak was brought on by an “exterior affect,” primarily based on pictures and movies that confirmed holes on the capsule’s exterior, together with on the radiator and photo voltaic panels.
Area has remained a uncommon venue of cooperation between Moscow and Washington for the reason that begin of the Russian offensive in Ukraine and ensuing Western sanctions on Russia.
The ISS was launched in 1998 at a time of elevated US-Russia cooperation following the Chilly Struggle “Area Race.”
Russia has been utilizing the ageing however dependable Soyuz capsules to ferry astronauts into house for the reason that Sixties.
However in recent times Russia’s house programme has been beset by a litany of issues which have led to the lack of satellites and automobiles.
(AFP)
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