The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, whose thermoregulation system was depressurized in December, will be launched from the ISS to Earth without a crew, and the astronauts’ mission at the station will be extended. This was announced on January 11 by Yuri Borisov, general manager of Roskosmos.
“Based on the analysis of the ship’s condition, technical documentation and thermal calculations, it was concluded that the MS-22 ship should land in an unmanned version,” Borisov said.
He added that in the event of a critical situation at the station, the state commission will individually determine which ship will be used to rescue the crew.
According to Borisov, the experts of the state agency carefully studied the conditions for depressurization of the circuit in the thermoregulation system. They concluded that the cause of the emergency was a collision with a meteoroid – space debris – at a speed of about 7000 m / s.
The State Commission considered several options for evacuating the crew from the ISS. The first was the launch of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft with a pilot and two empty seats. But for such a flight it was necessary to improve the ship and issue additional technical documentation. All this will delay the launch until at least March 2023.
Therefore, Roskosmos decided to send an uncrewed ship to the station – this option is already possible on February 20. In this regard, the expedition of the cosmonauts on the ISS was extended.
“The flight of Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitry Petelin and NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio is extended with a return to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft,” said Borisov.
Initially, on March 16, Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara were supposed to go to the station aboard Suz MS-23 on March 16.
Damage to the skin of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked with the ISS was reported by Roscosmos on December 15, 2022. The crew reported that a diagnostic sensor had tripped and pressure began to drop in the ship’s cooling system. An outside inspection confirmed a refrigerant leak, so all EVA work had to be curtailed. All other ship and station systems continued to operate normally.
From the very beginning, the state company assumed that the cause of depressurization could be the ingress of a micrometeorite into the radiator of the thermoregulation system.
On December 16, the media reported that the temperature on the Soyuz rose to 50 degrees due to a malfunction in the cooling system. However, Roskosmos denied this information, saying that the temperature on the ship had risen slightly, up to 30 degrees.
“Changes in the temperature regime, including according to the crew’s own reports, are no longer critical to the operation of the equipment and the comfort of the station crew, and remain within acceptable limits, do not pose a threat to the life and health of the astronauts. values,” the state company explained. Experts added that thanks to the cooling system of the Russian division of the ISS, the temperature in the residential compartments of the Soyuz MS-22 remained within normal limits.
Roskosmos noted that there was no threat to the life and health of the station crew and that they did not need to be evacuated. There are also no prerequisites for the urgent landing of the depressurized Soyuz MS-22 to Earth – this can be done as planned.
On 18 December, thanks to the actions of the MCC, the temperature on the ship began to gradually decrease. Borisov said that Roscosmos found a place where the outer skin was damaged, a hole about 0.8 mm in diameter formed there. Borisov noted that in an emergency, US astronauts acted very honorably towards their Russian colleagues and offered a helping hand.
According to the head of the government agency, the ISS team set an example to the whole world in how to work together in difficult situations. “Let many politicians find out,” added Borisov.
On December 29, NASA reported that they will not yet include Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in the ISS crew evacuation.
NASA and Roscosmos will continue to work together to explore options before making a final decision on how to get the crew home safely. Kelly Humphreys, spokesperson for the US space agency, said that Expedition 68’s crew is in good condition, carrying out repair and research work.