Soyuz

A seat barter agreement completed in July 2022 covered the flights of Anna Kikina and Andrey Fedyaev on Crew Dragon and NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Loral O’Hara on Soyuz.

Frank Rubio launched on Soyuz MS-22 in September 2022 and his stay was extended after damage to that spacecraft in December 2022.

Roscosmos will replace the damaged Soyuz MS-22 with an uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 launching 2023-02-20.

On 2023-01-18 astronauts moved Frank Rubio’s custom-fitted seat liner from Soyuz MS-22 to the Crew Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station.

Soyuz MS-22, which was docked to the International Space Station, was damaged on 2022-12-14 by a micrometeoroid hit that damaged a radiator and caused a coolant leak, according to Roscosmos and NASA conclusions.

Soyuz MS-23 is scheduled to launch on 2023-02-20 and dock with the International Space Station on 2023-02-22.

The launch of Soyuz MS-23 will slightly delay the Crew-6 Crew Dragon launch and NASA will revise the schedule for Crew-6 and other near-term flights, a process expected to take up to a couple weeks.

Roscosmos will launch an uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft to the International Space Station on 2023-02-20.

The planned spacewalk on 2022-12-14 was called off after coolant spewed from the Soyuz MS-22 leak for hours.

Under the revised plan, ISS crew members will spend one to two weeks transferring equipment, including customized seat liners, from Soyuz MS-22 to Soyuz MS-23 after MS-23 docks.

Russia’s Soyuz launch vehicle has been sidelined, creating gaps in Europe’s ability to deploy and maintain vital space infrastructure without outside assistance.

Thermal analysis is being conducted to determine whether Soyuz MS-22 can perform a nominal reentry with a crew or if a rescue vehicle is required.

If a rescue mission is required, Soyuz MS-23 would be launched to the ISS without a crew to replace Soyuz MS-22 as a lifeboat.

A previously planned spacewalk was delayed from 2022-12-19 to allow the ISS Canadarm2 robotic arm to survey the exterior of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft.

NASA is delaying a spacewalk at the International Space Station by two days to support the Russian investigation into a coolant leak on Soyuz MS-22.

Options under consideration include operating Soyuz MS-22 as-is with its crew returning in March 2023, an early return of Soyuz MS-22 and its crew, or launching Soyuz MS-23 without a crew to replace Soyuz MS-22.

There are concerns that Soyuz MS-22 may not be able to return to Earth as currently planned in March 2023.

Launching Soyuz MS-23 without a crew would likely extend the stay of Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin, and Frank Rubio until another Soyuz can launch their replacements.