Soyuz MS-23 launched 2023

Soyuz MS-23, launched February 24, 2023, was an uncrewed spaceflight to the International Space Station to replace the damaged Soyuz MS-22.  

A micro-meteoroid impact resulted in a 0.8 mm hole in the radiator of Soyuz MS-22, and doubts about the safety of the spacecraft. It returned to Earth uncrewed, and Soyuz MS-23 was launched.

Soyuz MS-23 docked with the ISS February 26 and returned to Earth in September 2023, with Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin, and Francisco Rubio.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin!

Dmitry Petelin, born July 10, 1983 in the former Soviet Union, went into space aboard Soyuz MS-22 to the International Space Station in September 2022. He participated in Expeditions 67-69, and spent over a year in space. Soyuz MS-22 was damaged when it docked with the ISS.  It was finally determined that the spacecraft could not return with a crew.  

Soyuz MS-23 launched without a crew in February 2023 and Soyuz MS-22 returned to Earth unmanned in March 2023. Petelin and the rest of the Soyuz MS-22 crew returned to Earth in Soyuz MS-23 in September 2023.  A six-month assignment was stretched to over a year.