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The Russian space agency will launch an empty Soyuz capsule to the International Space Station in February to replace a damaged spacecraft that cannot safely return its crew of three to Earth, NASA and Russian space officials said on Wednesday (January 11).
The new Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on February 20 to replace the ailing Soyuz MS-22 capsule on the station, which suffered a coolant leak on December 14 after being hit by a probable Micrometeoroids had been hit NASA and Russia’s Roskosmos agency said.
“We don’t call this a rescue Soyuz,” Joel Montalbano, NASA space station program manager, told reporters on Wednesday. “I call it a spare Soyuz. This is the next Soyuz, scheduled to fly in March. It will just fly a little sooner.”
The replacement Soyuz spacecraft will serve as the new lifeboat and rescue ship for NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, who have been living on the International Space Station without a rescue ship since their MS-22 Soyuz was damaged last month . It’s an unprecedented scenario, officials have said.
Related: Hole in leaking Soyuz spacecraft not caused by Geminid meteor
The December 14 coolant leak, captured in dramatic video by station cameras, meant the Soyuz MS-22 cannot keep its crew capsule and systems cool enough for safe operation. This left the crew without a lifeboat in an emergency, as the currently docked SpaceX Dragon capsule was only designed for the four astronauts on the Crew 5 mission, not seven.
“The main issue with landing with the current Soyuz would be the thermal conditions,” Sergei Krikalev, a veteran Russian cosmonaut and Roscosmos executive director for manned space systems, said during the press conference. “Because we lost the Soyuz heat dissipation capability, if we have a crew inside and have all the equipment turned on, we might have a high-temperature situation on Soyuz in the equipment room and crew room.” He noted that in the cramped space of the capsule the humidity would also rise.
“Temperatures in these areas would not be healthy for the crew,” Montalbano added.
Rubio and his crewmates will now return to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-23, but exactly when is not yet known. Her mission will be extended by months as her Soyuz MS-23 was originally scheduled to bring a new crew to the station in March. That crew must now await the completion of another new Soyuz, MS-24.
Krikalev said the delayed return will add at least a few more months to the crew’s original six-month mission, which took off in September 2022, and that they could face the potential of a nearly year-long flight while they await their relief crew’s launch.
“The great thing about our crews is that they are willing to help wherever we ask them,” said Montalbano. “They are willing to stay until the September launch date if that is the case. If they leave earlier and that start date is pushed back earlier, they will be willing to get home earlier.
“Maybe I need to fly some more ice to reward them,” Montalbano added.
Meanwhile, NASA is weighing possible delays in launching its Crew 6 astronaut with a SpaceX Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket, currently targeting Feb. 16. A ripple effect is likely as NASA and Russia reassess launch plans.
According to Montalbano, NASA and SpaceX have been working on contingency plans in case the stranded Soyuz MS-22 crew needs to return to Earth before their new Soyuz MS-23 ship arrives. Those plans currently call for securing the Soyuz crew in the Crew-5 Dragon capsule’s cargo hold, but talks are still ongoing, he added.
Although the stricken Soyuz MS-22 capsule is not capable of carrying a human crew, it will still be guided to a nominal landing in the steppes of Kazakhstan, Krikalev said. This landing will come several weeks after the replacement Soyuz MS-23 arrives at the station, as Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin will need to transfer their custom seat pads, Sokol suits and other gear to the new ship.
Krikalev said Roscosmos will load the departing Soyuz MS-22 with equipment and scientific experiment results that will not be affected by higher temperatures during the journey to Earth. And the new Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft will be loaded with extra cargo instead of a human crew at launch, he added.
Montalbano said station engineers will also accurately measure temperatures inside the unmanned Soyuz MS-22 when it returns to Earth to understand what the heating environment is like on such a damaged spacecraft.
“So we’re going to keep this vehicle at full capacity until we land on Earth,” Montalbano said.
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab). Follow us @spacedotcom (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab) and Instagram (opens in new tab).
