The US accepts that the rescue mission is Russian

Weeks after impressive leaks from the ISS-docked Soyuz spacecraft, we’re learning more about the planned Russian rescue mission to rescue the crew aboard. If this failure at the Soyuz level does not endanger the astronauts, it condemns them to return to Earth in the event of a major problem with the International Station.

Russia should leave the International Space Station from 2024. Meanwhile, the Russian Space Agency and its numerous modules that currently make up the ISS are essential to the operation of the International Station. So this is a new Soyuz headed for the ISS, early and above all empty. In fact, if the launch was initially scheduled for March 2023, it should join the ISS crew next month. He Thus bringing 3 astronauts back to Earth : Russians Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Betlin and their American counterpart Francisco Rubio.

Recently accepted by NASA and US administration, this special mission, ISS Return to safe positionEach of the team members can be sent back to Earth during the event The main problem with the board. In fact, the SpaceX Crew Dragon emergency capsule has only 4 seats, and of the 7 astronauts currently on the ISS, three of them will be condemned to stay in space. However, the Russian company has made it clear since the leak that in the event of an immediate major danger, using the damaged Soyuz module could be considered a last resort. Until now, the temperature on board has limited its use.

Collisions are entering more and more space objects.

All this fuss is due Partial destruction of the physical integrity of the Soyuz attached to the ISS. The latter may have been the result of a collision between the shower of meteorite debris and the Russian space agency’s module. If such an event is rare, collisions between celestial bodies or human space debris are more frequent. As a reminder, Hundreds of thousands of pieces of space debrisCaused by human activity, it’s going around our heads at a much faster rate than that 27,000 kilometers per hour.

Evidence : wsj.com