An unmanned Soyuz capsule has docked with the ISS to replace a damaged space shuttle on the International Space Station. After launching Friday from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Soyuz MS-23 arrived at the space station on Sunday, live images from the US space agency NASA showed. The capsule carried about 430 kilograms of equipment for the crew, including medical equipment and equipment for scientific experiments.
The unusual mission became necessary because the MS-22 ferry, previously docked to the ISS, has a leak – likely caused by a micrometeorite. The liquid leaking from the cooling system made the return of two Russians and an American to Earth seem risky. It is now planned that cosmonauts Sergei Prokopjew (48) and Dmitri Petelin (39) as well as NASA astronaut Frank Rubio (47), who came to the ISS on MS-22 in September, are likely to enter the ISS with MS-23. autumn return to earth. In the meantime, the damaged MS-22 capsule could fly back unmanned from the ISS.
A total of seven astronauts on board the ISS
In addition to the three crew members affected by the six-month extension of their mission, there are four other people on board the ISS: Russian Anna Kikina (38), American astronaut Nicole Mann (45) and her compatriot Josh Cassada ( 49) and the Japanese Koichi Wakata (59). They flew into space aboard a space capsule owned by multi-billionaire Elon Musk as part of the Crew 5 mission in October.
In a few days, the four participants of the subsequent Crew 6 mission – two US citizens, one Emirati and one Russian – will be added. They would also arrive with a SpaceX capsule, which will launch in the US state of Florida on Monday. After a several-day handover, Crew 5’s astronauts will return to Earth.
Tensions in Ukraine
Although Russia and the US have been working closely together on the space station some 400 kilometers above Earth for more than 20 years, the relationship has entered a serious crisis since the Russian invasion of Ukraine about a year ago. Both countries continue to cooperate in space, although tensions have already arisen here, caused by the conflict in Ukraine. (SDA/AFP/kes)
Source: Blick
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.
