Soyuz leaks could keep astronauts on the space station for a year

The Russian space agency had planned a Feb. 19 launch of a spacecraft to replace one that sprang a leak last year. But that plan is now on hold after a second Soyuz sprang a similar leak.

By Christian Davenport

Updated February 15, 2023 at 8:35 p.m. EST|Published February 15, 2023 at 7:18 p.m. EST

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, right, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev, center, and Dmitri Petelin, before their launch to the space station. Because of leaks, the three, who were due to return in March, may be forced to stay aboard the station until September. (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)

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The launch of a replacement spacecraft to retrieve a NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts from the International Space Station after their ship suffered a massive coolant leak late last year “is under review,” NASA said in a statement Wednesday evening as engineers work to figure out the cause of a leak affecting a second Russian spacecraft.