Russia is now considering sending a rescue mission for crew members aboard the space station on which the Soyuz capsule hangs. The damage is being assessed, Sergei Krikaliov, the Russian space agency’s director of human spaceflight, told a news conference yesterday.
If a thermal analysis – which evaluates the temperature in the cabin – shows that the MS-22 spacecraft is not suitable for a crew, the launch of another Soyuz capsule could be anticipated. It is tentatively scheduled for mid-March from Baikonur, the Russian launch site in Kazakhstan.
The capsule could then be sent to the ISS without a crew, Krikaliov said. Afterwards, the damaged spacecraft would return to Earth uncrewed.
