The unmanned Soyuz MS-23 alternative spacecraft taking off to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on February 24, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AFP
An uncrewed Russian Soyuz capsule docked early Sunday with the International Space Station and can ultimately convey residence three astronauts whose preliminary return automobile was damaged by a tiny meteoroid.
The MS-23 ship autonomously latched to the orbiting analysis lab, reside video from ISS-partner NASA confirmed, finishing the Soyuz’s two-day journey after launching off from Kazakhstan.
It is anticipated to convey residence U.S. astronaut Frank Rubio and Russian cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin and Sergei Prokopyev in September.
The three arrived on the ISS final September aboard MS-22, and have been initially solely supposed to keep about six months, till the top of March.
But their capsule started leaking coolant in mid-December after being hit by what U.S. and Russian officers consider was a tiny area rock.
Roscosmos, the Russian area company, determined to ship MS-23 to replace the damaged vessel, however with out its personal three deliberate crew members.
With nobody to replace them, Rubio, Petelin and Prokopyev will now spend nearly a yr in area.
The damaged MS-22 is anticipated to depart the area station with out passengers and return to Earth in late March.
There are 4 others at present on board the ISS, who arrived on a SpaceX Dragon capsule final October as a part of the Crew-5 mission.
They are scheduled to be joined subsequent week by members of the Crew-6 mission — two Americans, an Emirati and a Russian — who will even arrive aboard a SpaceX capsule anticipated to launch Monday from Florida.
After just a few days of overlap, Crew-5 will then return to Earth.
