Soyuz MS-22

Crew

The original crew consisted of three Russian members, named in May 2021. American astronaut Francisco Rubio replaced Anna Kikina as part of the Soyuz-Dragon crew swap system, which ensures continuous US and Russian presence on the ISS. This arrangement provides backup scenarios in case of vehicle grounding, such as the Soyuz MS-10 launch failure, or delays like those affecting SpaceX Crew-3 due to weather.

Cooling loop accident

On 15 December 2022 at 12:45 UTC, a stream of flakes was seen coming from Soyuz MS-22, coinciding with a pressure loss in the external radiator cooling loop. A scheduled spacewalk for Petelin and Prokopyev was cancelled. The leak was caused by a micro-meteorite impact that left a 0.8 mm hole in the external cooling radiator on the service module. Two working groups investigated the cause and assessed the spacecraft's condition.

Temperatures in the orbital and descent modules reached 30 °C initially, and 40 °C in the service module, stabilizing around 30 °C by January 2023. The outer surface was examined using cameras on the European Robotic Arm and Canadarm2, revealing a possible damage site. In February 2023, Progress MS-21 experienced a similar coolant leak.

Undocking and Return

The replacement spacecraft, MS-23, launched uncrewed on 24 February 2023 and docked on 26 February 2023, bringing the crew back in September 2023 after a year in space. The original crew of MS-23 was reassigned to MS-24. Dry cargo and equipment weighing 218 kg were brought back on MS-22's uncrewed return. Landing temperatures likely reached 50 °C, which was more favorable than the worst emergency crewed landing scenario studied.

Until MS-23 docked, NASA and Roscosmos considered using SpaceX Crew-5 for emergency evacuation, as Crew Dragon can host seven people. Francisco Rubio's seat liner was moved from MS-22 to Crew Dragon Endurance on 17 January 2023 to provide lifeboat capability, the first such swap from Soyuz to Crew Dragon. After MS-23 arrived, seat liners for Prokopyev and Petelin were moved on 2 March, and Rubio's liner was transferred from Crew Dragon to MS-23 on 6 March.

Did You Know?

• The spacecraft is named after Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a pioneer of modern rocketry and astronautics.
• Tsiolkovsky's 165th birthday fell on 17 September, a few days before the launch of MS-22.