Russia Launches Replacement Spacecraft For Astronauts Stranded By Coolant Leak (cnn.com) 27
Russia launched a Soyuz spacecraft that will replace a capsule that sprang a coolant leak in December, leaving two cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut without a ride home. CNN reports: Liftoff of the capsule, called the Soyuz MS-23, took place out of Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakhstan on Thursday at 7:24 p.m. ET, which is 5:24 a.m. Friday local time. The uncrewed spacecraft will spend about two days in orbit, maneuvering toward the International Space Station It's expected to dock with the Poisk module -- which is on the space station's Russian-run portion -- just after 8 p.m. ET Saturday.
The Soyuz MS-23 will be the return vehicle for cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, all of whom traveled to the space station aboard the Soyuz MS-22 capsule in September. Rather than flying with crew members aboard, the Soyuz MS-23 launched on Thursday with only a "Zero-G indicator," which can be any object that is left in the cabin and is designed to float freely when the capsule enters microgravity. For this mission, the indicator is a teddy bear tethered by a string inside the cabin.
The Soyuz MS-23 will be the return vehicle for cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, all of whom traveled to the space station aboard the Soyuz MS-22 capsule in September. Rather than flying with crew members aboard, the Soyuz MS-23 launched on Thursday with only a "Zero-G indicator," which can be any object that is left in the cabin and is designed to float freely when the capsule enters microgravity. For this mission, the indicator is a teddy bear tethered by a string inside the cabin.
Relacement? (Score:3)
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Re:Relacement? (Score:4, Interesting)
They're just lucky it's not a special military operation.
Was wondering the same thing. Are we sure it wasn't a turret that was launched [youtube.com]?
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They're just lucky it's not a special military operation.
Was wondering the same thing. Are we sure it wasn't a turret that was launched [youtube.com]?
As long as they make sure to keep it fully inflated [reddit.com].
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Else it would take a year (and counting) to do what should take 5 days.
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Re:Relacement? (Score:5, Insightful)
At least their civilian rockets still work (Score:2, Offtopic)
Great, but keep brooms on standby! (Score:3)
Just in case...
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Russia is broke and Russia is losing a war. I don't know about the health situation of Putin, and frankly, I don't care. If anything, I hope he stays healthy because if he croaks, Russia could end this shitshow and somehow avoid breaking up.
Zero G Indicator (Score:2)
Don't let them fool you. (Score:2)
Don't let them fool you, It's a 1978 Lada. They found that launching it was a more viable solution than launching leaky Soyuz capsules. At least this way the astronauts returning know exactly what they're getting.
Gotta bring those Cosmobros home! (Score:2)
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Their Own Satallite Destruction Debris Got Them? (Score:2)
Radiator sealing compound? (Score:2)
What's that stuff Tom & Ray used to recommend on Car Talk? "Bars Leak?" How do you say that in Russian?
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A Better Headline? (Score:2)
Is nobody going to ask? (Score:3)
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