After the disclosure, Russia might rush the launch of its following spacecraft.

The Soyuz MS-22 capsule’s safe usage by the crew for their anticipated return to Earth will be decided by an expert panel later this month, according to Roscosmos, otherwise, it will be trashed and replaced.

The International Space Station’s crew does not need to be evacuated due to a coolant leak, according to a statement from Russia’s space business Roscosmos on Monday. However, the organisation left open the prospect of launching a replacement capsule in case this were to become necessary.

The Soyuz MS-22 capsule’s safe usage by the crew for their anticipated return to Earth will be decided by an expert panel later this month, according to Roscosmos, otherwise, it will be trashed and replaced. According to the statement, the next Soyuz launch was slated for March but may be accelerated if necessary.

Russia might rush the launch of its following spacecraft

The Soyuz MS-22 leak was discovered last week as two Russian cosmonauts prepared to leave the station on a scheduled spacewalk. When ground experts observed a stream of liquid and debris emanating from the Soyuz on a live video feed from orbit, Russian Mission Control terminated the spacewalk.

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Both NASA and Roscosmos claim that there was no threat to the crew of the space station as a result of the incident. A micrometeorite or a piece of space debris striking one of the capsule’s external radiators, according to Roscosmos, could have caused the leak.

The company reported on Monday that the leak caused the crew compartment’s temperature to increase to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). After ground specialists changed some of the capsule’s systems, the temperature in the equipment compartment dropped to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) from its original high of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Roscosmos.

According to Roscosmos, the crew in the Russian portion utilized ventilators to push cold air into the capsule and lower the temperature to a comfortable level in the cockpit. According to Roscosmos, tests of the ship’s control system revealed it was unaffected by the incident. “The increase in temperature on the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft is admissible and isn’t critical for the functioning of the equipment or the health of the crew in case they need to be in the spacecraft,” the agency added.

According to the space corporation, a camera mounted on a robotic arm made in Canada was used to scan the surface of the spacecraft to find the coolant leak. The Soyuz MS-22 was used by NASA astronauts Frank Rubio, Prokopyev, and Petelin to reach the International Space Station in September. Since then, it has acted as the crew’s lifeboat. They were supposed to return to Earth in March as part of the capsule’s routine rotation.

The Soyuz MS-23, the following Soyuz spacecraft, has already undertaken certain testing in anticipation of a March launch, according to Roscosmos. It stated that, if required, the launch might be sped up.

The ship would be used for the crew’s scheduled return if the situation is under control and we are completely confident in its capabilities, Roscosmos head Yuri Borisov said in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia that was published on Monday. “We have reserve options if the situation takes a different turn,” the speaker said. Prokopyev, Petelin, Rubio, Nicole Mann, and Josh Cassada of NASA, Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Anna Kikina of Roscosmos are the other four crew members that are currently on the space outpost.

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