Soyuz MS-22 crew to stay on ISS, to return to Earth later on Soyuz MS-23 - Roscosmos

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The state commission has decided to extend the expedition of the Russian-U.S. crew of the Soyuz MS-22 on the International Space Station (ISS), Roscosmos head Yury Borisov said.

The cosmonauts and the astronaut will return to Earth on the Soyuz MS-23, he said.

"The flight of cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio is extended with the return to Earth on the Soyuz MS-23," Borisov told reporters following a meeting of the state commission on the situation with the Soyuz MS-22 on the ISS.

"At an earlier board meeting of the chief designers of the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation, NASA officials agreed with the conclusions of the Board and confirmed their readiness to provide the necessary assistance," Borisov said.

Borisov said that the Soyuz MS-22 spaceship with a damaged radiator will land in unmanned mode.

"A conclusion has been drawn from the analysis of the spaceship's condition, thermal estimates and technical documentation that the MS-22 spaceship should land in unmanned mode," Borisov said.

According to him, tests of the motion control system and ship navigation and mathematical modeling of thermal processes during the descent from orbit have been carried out.