MOSCOW, Mar 24The State Commission approved the date of return to Earth in unmanned mode of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft with a faulty cooling system, the spacecraft will descend on March 28, Roskosmos said on Friday.
«Today, at a meeting at the Roscosmos State Corporation, the state commission approved the return of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft from the International Space Station to Earth on March 28,» the report says. The state corporation recalled that due to the depressurization of the thermal control system that occurred on December 15, 2022 after a breakdown of the radiator by a micrometeoroid, it was decided to land the ship in an unmanned mode.
At the moment, astronauts at the International Space Station are already stacking the removed cargo in the Soyuz MS-22's amenity compartment and the return cargo in its descent vehicle. «The undocking of the spacecraft from the Rassvet small research module of the Russian segment of the ISS is scheduled for 12:57 Moscow time, the landing of its descent vehicle in the area southeast of the Kazakh city of Zhezkazgan is scheduled for 14:45 Moscow time,» Roskosmos said.
Soyuz MS-22 is expected to return to Earth about 218 kilograms of cargo, including the results of scientific experiments and station equipment for analysis or reuse. In particular, as previously reported, a faulty battery of one of the Russian spacesuits will be lowered to Earth, due to which the spacewalk was completed ahead of schedule in the summer of 2022.
After the undocking of the Soyuz MS-22, the number of the crew of the long-term expedition to the ISS will change from 68 to 69. It will change again after the undocking of the Soyuz MS-23 in the second half of 2023 — from 69 to 70, added to Roskosmos.