KOROLEV (Moscow region), Mar 28The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft with a damaged radiator has undocked from the ISS, and it will be returned to Earth in unmanned mode, a correspondent broadcasts from the Mission Control Center near Moscow. from orbit. After that, the Soyuz MS-22 will split into compartments, and its unmanned descent vehicle will enter the atmosphere. Landing will take place approximately at 14.45 Moscow time in the area southeast of the Kazakh city of Zhezkazgan.
Soyuz MS-22 is expected to return 218 kilograms of cargo to Earth, including the results of scientific experiments and station equipment for analysis or reuse. In particular, as 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.
Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft , named after cosmonautics pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, docked with the ISS on September 21, delivering Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopiev, Dmitry Petelin and American Frank Rubio into orbit. On December 15, 2022, after being hit, according to official data, by a micrometeorite, the ship's cooling system was depressurized.
Due to risks, the crew was forced to stay on the ISS for another six months and will return on the next ship, Soyuz MS-23. It launched from Baikonur on February 24 and flew unmanned to the ISS on February 26.
After the Soyuz MS-22 undocked, the number of the crew of the long-term expedition to the ISS changed from 68 to 69.