Russian Cosmonauts Carry Out Thermal Tests Of Damaged Soyuz MS-22 Before Its Landing

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2023) Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday carried out thermal tests of the faulty Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft systems before its upcoming landing in an unmanned mode, the press office of Russian state-run space corporation Roscosmos said.

"Today at the International Space Station, cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin of the Roscosmos state corporation, together with specialists from S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, carried out thermal tests of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft systems," Roscosmos said.

The press office added that the tests were carried out to test the modes of operation of the spacecraft's equipment before its planned landing at the end of March.

"The test results are being evaluated by the specialists of RSC Energia," the office said.

On February 11, Roscosmos reported a depressurization of the thermal circuit of the Progress MS-21 cargo spacecraft docked to the ISS. The spacecraft spent more than three months in the station, with its undocking and deorbiting scheduled for February 18. In December of last year, shortly before a spacewalk, the thermal circuit of the manned spacecraft Soyuz MS-22 depressurized. A Soyuz-2.1a rocket with the Soyuz MS-23 unmanned spacecraft docked on the ISS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on February 26.

Soyuz MS-22 is planned to return back to Earth in unmanned mode at the end of March. The Soyuz MS-23 should bring back the Soyuz MS-22 crew, Prokopyev and Petelin, as well as US astronaut Frank Rubio, back to Earth on September 27, 2023.