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Leaky Soyuz spacecraft at space station returns to Earth in speedy landing

14
Tariq Malik
·4 min read
The Russian Soyuz MS-22 space capsule descends under its main parachute as it lands on the steppes of Kazakhstan on March 28, 2023.
The Russian Soyuz MS-22 space capsule descends under its main parachute as it lands on the steppes of Kazakhstan on March 28, 2023.

A Soyuz space capsule that suffered a major coolant leak in December departed the International Space Station without a crew early Tuesday (March 28) to return to Earth for engineers to study.

The leaky Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft cast off from its docking port on the Russian-built Rassvet module of the International Space Station without any astronauts aboard — a rarity for Russia's Roscosmos space program — at 5:57 a.m. EDT (0957 GMT). The Soyuz will land on the steppes of Kazakhstan at 7:46 a.m. EDT (1146 GMT) about 91 miles to the southeast of the city of Dzhezkazgan, but NASA did not broadcast the landing live. Roscosmos did broadcast it live on YouTube.

"It's de-orbiting and descent to Earth went smoothly," Roscosmos officials announced on Telegram after landing. Images showed the spacecraft descending under its parachute and at rest on its side after landing.

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The Soyuz MS-22 capsule left orbit just 55 minutes after undocking, much sooner than the typical 2.5 hours, since it is uncrewed, NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said. The spacecraft also fired a longer departure burn than normal to leave the International Space Station, he added.

Related: Russia releases photos of damage to leaky Soyuz spacecraft

Image 1 of 4

The Russian Soyuz MS-22 space capsule descends under its main parachute as it lands on the steppes of Kazakhstan on March 28, 2023.
The Russian Soyuz MS-22 space capsule descends under its main parachute as it lands on the steppes of Kazakhstan on March 28, 2023.

Image 2 of 4

The Russian Soyuz MS-22 space capsule lands on the steppes of Kazakhstan on March 28, 2023.
The Russian Soyuz MS-22 space capsule lands on the steppes of Kazakhstan on March 28, 2023.

Image 3 of 4

The Russian Soyuz MS-22 space capsule at rest on its side after landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan on March 28, 2023.
The Russian Soyuz MS-22 space capsule at rest on its side after landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan on March 28, 2023.

Image 4 of 4

The Russian Soyuz MS-22 space capsule descends under its main parachute as it lands on the steppes of Kazakhstan on March 28, 2023.
The Russian Soyuz MS-22 space capsule descends under its main parachute as it lands on the steppes of Kazakhstan on March 28, 2023.

Roscosmos launched the MS-22 Soyuz spacecraft in September 2022 to ferry Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio to the International Space Station on a six-month mission. But in December, just halfway through the flight, the Soyuz capsule sprung an uncontrollable leak on Dec. 14 that vented its precious coolant into space.