The Russian crewed capsule ‘Soyuz MS-22’ docked with the International Space Station (ISS) has been officially proposed to launch an empty spacecraft to bring the astronauts who flew it to Earth safely.
According to foreign media on the 22nd, Sergei Krikalev, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency’s manned space program, said at a press conference organized by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration that the Soyuz MS-22 is testing whether it can carry astronauts and return safe and sound. If he is found unfit, he will send an empty spaceship to rescue.
Shortly after the crash, Russian media reported that the anticipated deployment of Soyuz MS-23 was under review, but it was the first time a senior Russian Space Corporation official had directly mentioned this.
A total of seven astronauts are staying on the ISS, including three, including Sergei Prokofiev, who arrived on Soyuz MS-22 on September 21 last year.
Prokofiev and others were due to return aboard MS-22 after completing their six-month mission on the space station in March next year.
However, on the 14th, a hole was formed in the external cooling pipe of the MS-22 capsule docked to the ‘Rasvet’ module, and the cooling water was almost completely drained, making it impossible to guarantee the capsule’s flight safety.
It has been pointed out that the temperature rises rapidly during flight and can threaten the lives of astronauts.
If there is an emergency situation that requires immediate escape from the ISS, Prokofiev and the three astronauts have no safe method of escape.
SpaceX’s Crew-5 capsule, carrying four other astronauts, is moored to the space station as a lifeboat.
It has not yet been determined whether the Russian side will use the empty spacecraft or use the MS-22 as-is, but since the coolant plays an important role in preventing the cabin temperature from rising, the possibility of using it without repairs should be low. .
NASA’s ISS program manager Joel Montalbano said if Russia decides to send an empty spacecraft for the rescue, the astronauts will return two to three weeks ahead of schedule.
Russia’s Federal Space Agency has prepared Soyuz MS-23 for a launch in March next year for the originally scheduled cosmonaut mission shift.
There was no mention of the use of Crew Dragon instead of Soyuz capsules.
Meanwhile, the hole in the external cooling tube was initially suggested to be a meteoroid, but the recent Gemini meteor shower was suggested as unrelated given the angle of impact.
Montalbano and Krikalev left open the possibility that they were hit by a defect in the cooling system itself or by other space debris.
YTN Lim Soo-geun ([email protected])
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