Roscosmos has announced that the first of the vessels with a compromised cooling system will depart the International Space Station on Saturday, a decision that keeps astronauts prepared for a rapid sequence of actions. The ship in question is the Progress MS-21 cargo freighter, which is scheduled to launch at 5:26 Moscow time. After liftoff, the crew will oversee a teleoperation operation to deploy the spacecraft and will have the opportunity to photograph the location of the fault. Once the deployment and the initial checks are complete, the Progress MS-21 will be sent back toward Earth and is planned to be deorbited within the same day, marking a tightly choreographed sequence aimed at preserving station safety and ensuring rapid data gathering for analysis.
Additional updates concern the manned Soyuz MS-22 vehicle, another craft that has reported damaged thermal insulation. Ground teams adjusted the mission timeline so that the Soyuz MS-22, originally anticipated to fly in mid-March, will now be replaced by the unmanned Soyuz MS-23 on February 20. The MS-23 mission will depart without crew aboard and is designed to conduct preplanned contingency operations while enabling continued manned access to the station through alternate arrangements. This shift reflects a broader strategy to manage risk and maintain ongoing operations at the orbital outpost while investigators scrutinize the affected systems.
Earlier communications from Roscosmos confirmed that the inspection of the damaged Progress MS-21 had reached a conclusion. The assessment included a comprehensive review of the cooling system, pressure metrics, and thermal control pathways to determine how the anomaly developed and why pressure losses were observed. The evaluation team documented the observed conditions and prepared a detailed set of findings to guide future maintenance and design considerations. A portion of the data collected during the investigation has been released to engineers and scientists who will collaborate to identify root causes and potential corrective measures.
Officials emphasized that both the photo and video evidence captured during and after the inspection will be transmitted to Russian experts for deeper analysis. High-resolution images, flight telemetry, and time-stamped video footage will assist specialists in reconstructing the sequence of events that led to the heat management issue in Progress MS-21. This process aims to illuminate the specific mechanical or material factors that contributed to the loss of pressurization within the cooling loop, enabling the development of robust preventative strategies for future flights and resupply missions. External observers are encouraged to monitor the ongoing data review as results become available and as the teams converge on a clear explanation for the anomaly.
The situation underscores the careful balance that space agencies maintain between continuing essential operations aboard the ISS and pursuing rigorous verification of every subsystem. By adjusting launch windows, employing unmanned backups, and disseminating empirical evidence to the international community, Roscosmos demonstrates a disciplined approach to risk management. In the days ahead, spacecraft teams will continue to monitor thermal performance, verify integrity across all cooling channels, and coordinate with international partners to harmonize safety protocols and mission readiness. The end goal remains straightforward: to safeguard crew safety, protect valuable experiments, and sustain uninterrupted human presence in low Earth orbit while scientists work to resolve the underlying causes of the thermal insulation damage.
Notes on sources and attributions: Roscosmos provided the primary timeline and mission adjustments, with supplementary details published by state space communications and related briefing materials. Technical observations and interpretations are being compiled by flight operations teams and reviewed by engineering specialists to ensure a transparent and data-driven understanding of the fault. Continued updates will reflect the evolving assessment and any adjustments to flight plans that may arise as investigators progress with their work. (Source attribution: Roscosmos and associated space agency communications)