Russia's Rocket With Unmanned Spaceship Launched to ISS to Replace Soyuz MS-22 Spacecraft

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Soyuz-2.1a rocket with the Soyuz MS-23 unmanned spacecraft was launched into orbit from Baikonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the Mission Control Center near Moscow.

The rocket was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome at 3:24 a.m. Moscow time (01:24 GMT). In nine minutes, the spacecraft will separate from the third stage of the rocket, after which it will begin its unmanned flight to the ISS. Soyuz MS-23 is scheduled to dock the ISS at 4:01 a.m. Moscow time (01:01 GMT) on February 26.

The ship is flying in an unmanned mode to bring back to Earth the crew of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, which suffered a depressurization on December 15, 2022.

The ship is carrying 429 kilograms (945 pounds) of additional cargo, including medical, cleaning, and atmospheric supplies. The ship was also loaded with equipment for scientific experiments, clothes, and containers with food rations.

Last December, the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft suffered depressurization of a thermal circuit. Due to a non-functioning cooling system, Russian space corporation Roscosmos decided to send the next Soyuz MS-23 spaceship to the ISS to bring back the crew, including Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, as well as US astronaut Frank Rubio. Soyuz MS-22 will be grounded without a crew after the new spacecraft arrives.

The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft will spend 215 days in orbit, meaning that it will come back to Earth on September 26, 2023. By this day, Prokopyev, Petelin, and Rubio will have spent 370 days in space. This will be a new record in the history of the ISS.