Russia delays launch of rescue spacecraft after second coolant leak concern | CNN

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Officials at Russia’s area company, Roscosmos, have opted to delay the launch of a spacecraft meant to interchange one deemed not protected sufficient to move astronauts after a second automobile — a cargo ship — sprang a leak on Saturday, in response to NASA.

Once cleared, the substitute spacecraft, Soyuz MS-23, will transport three astronauts at present stationed on the International Space Station again to Earth. The automobile initially assigned to the mission, Soyuz MS-22, was present 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 residence.

The rescue automobile will now launch in March, in response to a put up from the official Roscosmos Telegram account.

The determination to delay was made after NASA confirmed {that a} separate Russian automobile, a Progress spacecraft designed to hold cargo that had docked with the area station on February 11, had the same coolant leak.

“The reason for the loss of coolant in the Progress 82 spacecraft is being investigated,” NASA stated in a Saturday assertion on its website. “The hatches between the Progress 82 and the station are open, and temperatures and pressures aboard the station are all normal. The crew, which was informed of the cooling loop leak, is in no danger and continuing with normal space station operations.”

Roscosmos stated in its Telegram put up that it will delay the Soyuz MS-23 launch whereas the company investigated the reason for the Progress automobile’s coolant leak.

Russia’s area company didn’t, nevertheless, counsel the problems have been associated. Rather, Roscosmos reiterated that the leak on the Soyuz MS-22 automobile occurred when it was dinged by an object in area, which officers beforehand decided was a micrometeroid.

Roscosmos additionally shared new photographs of the MS-22 automobile, which it stated was proof that the spacecraft sustained exterior injury that triggered the coolant leak.