After a leak was discovered in a Russian Soyuz capsule, the US space agency NASA selected a “Crew Dragon” docked at the ISS as a temporary emergency spacecraft. This was decided after consultation with its operator SpaceX, Elon Musk’s private spaceflight company, in the event of an unforeseen emergency, NASA announced at a press conference on Tuesday (local time).
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio’s seat cover had already been placed in the “Crew Dragon,” NASA announced Wednesday. In an emergency, Rubio can return to Earth along with other crew members for an evacuation.
According to NASA, the contingency plan for the two cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin foresees that they would return to Earth despite a leak in the Soyuz capsule – but with only two crew members in the capsule, they would be better protected against possible heat build-up. upwards.
In principle, however, the plan is still for Prokopjew, Petelin and Rubio to fly back to Earth from the International Space Station with a replacement spaceship. This will likely be late September – instead of March as originally planned.
The three astronauts came to the ISS last September in the Soyuz MS-22 capsule. In December, a leak was discovered in the capsule, which experts say was caused by the impact of a micrometeorite.
Now, on February 20, Soyuz MS-23 will be sent to the ISS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as a replacement spacecraft. Then, after some rearrangement work, the Soyuz MS-22 should fly back to Earth unmanned.
In addition, “Crew 6” – consisting of two US astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates – will depart from the US for the ISS between the middle and the end of February. Soon after, “Crew 5” — NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina, and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata — will return to Earth. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
