Russia delays launch to room station although leak is probed
MOSCOW — Russia will postpone the launch of an empty space capsule to the International House Station pending more investigation of a coolant leak on a provide ship docked to the station, the second such leak at a docked Russian craft in two months, the head of Russia’s area corporation Roscosmos explained Monday.
The Soyuz capsule was to be released in automated manner on Feb. 20 and dock with the orbiting outpost two times later, to provide as a lifeboat for crew evacuation in case of an unexpected emergency. Roscosmos director Yuri Borisov claimed the launch will be delayed, at most until eventually early March.
A Soyuz capsule that can accommodate an astronaut capsule and was already docked to the station developed a coolant leak in December.
Russians Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio had been supposed to return to Earth in March in that capsule, but Russian house officials claimed larger temperatures from the coolant leak could make that hazardous.
Then a different coolant leak was detected Saturday in a docked supply ship. The leak was detected immediately after a 2nd source ship docked with the place station.
Borisov mentioned the unmanned Soyuz launch would be delayed “until we make confident and get to the internet site of a probable breakdown.”
Mainly because the new Soyuz will be introduced in automatic manner, a alternative crew will now have to hold out until eventually late summer time or drop when another capsule is prepared. That usually means Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio will have to continue to be various further months at the station, quite possibly pushing their mission to shut to a calendar year.
Other than Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio, the house station is dwelling to NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada Russian Anna Kikina and Japan’s Koichi Wakata. The 4 rode up on a SpaceX capsule very last Oct.
