posted 02-21-2023 08:33 AM               

Soyuz MS-23 rocket poised for launch

The Center for Internal and External Communications of Roscosmos has prepared a certificate for the launch of the Soyuz MS-23 uncrewed spacecraft. The decision was made to launch the Soyuz to the International Space Station on Thursday (Feb. 23) at 7:24 p.m. EST (0024 GMT or 5:24 a.m. local time at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Feb. 24).

Soyuz MS-23 will then dock with the space station after a two-day rendezvous.

The uncrewed spacecraft will replace Soyuz MS-22, which suffered a thermal control system leak after a suspected micro-meteoroid impact. The Soyuz MS-22 crew of Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Frank Rubio have had their stay on the space station extended and will return to Earth on Soyuz MS-23 in about six months.

On Tuesday (Feb. 21), the Soyuz-2.1a rocket topped with the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft was rolled out to Pad 31/6 by train and erected into position.

posted 02-23-2023 06:35 PM               

Russia launches uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 on 'rescue' flight to space station

An uncrewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft is now on its way to the International Space Station, having been launched as a "rescue craft" for a damaged ship that is no longer capable of safely returning its crew to Earth.

Soyuz MS-23 lifted off from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday (Feb. 23) at 7:24 p.m. EST (0024 GMT or 3:34 a.m. local time on Feb. 24). The spacecraft separated from its Soyuz-2.1a rocket 8 minutes and 48 seconds into flight and deployed its solar panels and communications antenna.

posted 02-25-2023 06:59 PM               

Soyuz MS-23 docks at space station

The uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 "rescue" ship arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday (Feb. 25), completing an autonomous docking to the Poisk module at 7:58 p.m. EST (0058 GMT Feb. 26).

Following standard pressurization checks, the hatches between the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft and the space station will be opened.

posted 04-06-2023 09:33 AM               

MS-23 crew relocates Soyuz to station docking port

Soyuz MS-23 crewmates Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos and Frank Rubio of NASA successfully re-docked their spacecraft to the Prichal module on the Earth-facing side of the International Space Station on Thursday (April 6) at 5:22 a.m. EDT (0922 GMT).

This was the 26th spacecraft relocation in space station history. The move makes room for the arrival of the uncrewed Progress MS-23 (84P) cargo spacecraft later this year and frees the Poisk airlock for upcoming Roscosmos spacewalks in April and May.

Rubio, Prokopyev, and Petelin are scheduled to return to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft on Sept. 27.

posted 09-27-2023 02:55 AM               

Soyuz MS-23 undocks from space station

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin together with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio departed the International Space Station to return to Earth on Wednesday (Sept. 27). Their Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft undocked from the Earth-facing port of the Prichal node at 3:54 a.m. EDT (0754 GMT).

A deorbit burn scheduled for 6:24 a.m EDT (1024 GMT) will set up a landing southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan at 7:17 a.m. EDT (1117 GMT or 5:14 p.m. local time).

posted 09-27-2023 06:17 AM               

Record-setting NASA astronaut lands with Russian crewmates after year on space station

The first American to spend a full year in space and the first two Russians to do the same on the International Space Station have landed safely back on Earth.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of the Russian federal space corporation Roscosmos returned from the space station aboard Russia's Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft on Wednesday (Sept. 27). Their touchdown at 7:17 a.m. EDT (1117 GMT or 5:14 p.m. local time) on the steppe of Kazakhstan ended an extended 371-day stay in space for all three.