Russia delays launch of rescue spacecraft following 2nd coolant leak problem | Information
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Officers at Russia’s space company, Roscosmos, have opted to delay the launch of a spacecraft meant to substitute 1 considered not safe and sound sufficient to transport astronauts following a 2nd auto — a cargo ship — sprang a leak on Saturday, in accordance to NASA.
When cleared, the replacement spacecraft, Soyuz MS-23, will transport three astronauts at this time stationed at the Intercontinental Space Station again to Earth. The automobile at first assigned to the mission, Soyuz MS-22, was located in December to be leaking coolant.
Roscosmos was aiming to launch the MS-23 substitute capsule this month and return cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dimitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio home.
The rescue motor vehicle will now start in March, in accordance to a publish from the official Roscosmos Telegram account.
The decision to delay was manufactured following NASA verified that a independent Russian car or truck, a Development spacecraft built to have cargo that had docked with the place station on February 11, experienced a related coolant leak.
“The cause for the loss of coolant in the Development 82 spacecraft is currently being investigated,” NASA said in a Saturday assertion on its website. “The hatches in between the Progress 82 and the station are open, and temperatures and pressures aboard the station are all standard. The crew, which was educated of the cooling loop leak, is in no risk and continuing with regular space station functions.”
Roscosmos claimed in its Telegram publish that it would hold off the Soyuz MS-23 launch whilst the agency investigated the induce of the Development vehicle’s coolant leak.
Russia’s place company did not, nonetheless, suggest the troubles have been linked. Somewhat, Roscosmos reiterated that the leak on the Soyuz MS-22 car occurred when it was dinged by an item in place, which officials beforehand established was a micrometeroid.
Roscosmos also shared new illustrations or photos of the MS-22 car, which it explained was proof that the spacecraft sustained external injury that caused the coolant leak.