MOSCOW – Russia announced on Wednesday that it would send a rescue capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) on February 20 after a meteorite damaged the spacecraft that was supposed to return them to Earth.
“The Soyuz MS-23 will launch unmanned on February 20, 2023,” Russia’s space agency Roscosmos announced.
The MS-22 spacecraft, which was supposed to return Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin to Earth, was damaged by a tiny meteorite hit, Roscosmos announced on Wednesday, ruling out a mechanical problem.
As stated by the space agency, their space capsule will now have to return to Earth without a crew. “Soyuz MS-22 must return to Earth without a crew,” Roscosmos stated last month after damage to the space capsule caused a coolant leak.
