Russia to replace leaking spacecraft

Russia plans to launch a replacement spacecraft to the International Space Station today, with arrival expected Saturday, NASA officials confirmed Tuesday.

The Soyuz spacecraft will replace one that was damaged in December and was leaking coolant while it was docked at the space station. Russian officials later determined that the spacecraft was not safe to transport its crew of two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut home.

It had been unclear when the replacement would be launched after a second Russian spacecraft, one used to transport cargo only and not people, suffered similar damage. The Russian space agency has been trying to figure out what caused the leaks, but has determined that the Soyuz replacement vehicle was good to fly.

In a call with reporters Tuesday evening, Dana Weigel, NASA’s deputy manager of the International Space Station program, said Russia has “taken a look at the upcoming Soyuz that’s slated to launch and they’re not seeing any issues with the vehicle, so they’re pressing ahead with their launch preparations.”

She added that NASA has been in touch with their Russian counterparts as they investigate the cause of the problems.

“What they’re really trying to understand is, are there any signs or signatures that somewhere along the spacecraft’s journey, whether its launch or launch vehicle separation, there’s some other external influence or damage that could have occurred that could have been a factor there,” she said.

The crew — NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin — launched to the International Space Station in September in what was supposed to be a six-month stay, with a return trip set for March.