Following the failed launch of a Russian resupply rocket, NASA and its space agency partners have decided to delay the return of three astronauts from the International Space Station.
"The return to Earth for NASA's Terry Virts, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov now is targeted for early June. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka will remain aboard the station to begin Expedition 44."
The three astronauts originally arrived on the station on November 24, 2014, as a part of Expedition 43.
Their replacements, NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, the Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will also be delayed from late May to late July, according to NASA. They will join Scott Kelly of NASA and two Russians, Mikhail Kornienjo and Gennady Padalka, who are already on board, as part of Expedition 44.
The flight plan changes came after Russian space officials conducted an initial investigation into the loss of control of the unmanned Progress 59 cargo ship on April 28. The craft orbited in low Earth orbit for more than a week before plunging into the atmosphere and disintegrating.
"The partner agencies agreed to adjust the schedule after hearing the Russian Federal Space Agency's (Roscosmos) preliminary findings on the recent loss of the Progress 59 cargo craft. The exact dates have not yet been established, but will be announced in the coming weeks. Roscosmos expects to provide an update about the Progress 59 investigation on Friday, May 22."
This delay shouldn't pose any problem to the astronauts that are currently stranded aboard the space station, said NASA spokeswoman, Stephanie Schierholz. "We keep plenty of supplies on the space station so we can have the flexibility to do something like this," she said in an interview.
The incident has put further launches to the Station on hold pending the results of an investigation into the failure," ESA said in a statement. "The six astronauts living and working on the orbital complex have enough supplies to last for many weeks regardless of the loss, so their wellbeing is unaffected by the change of schedule."
The next cargo launch by Russia, Progress 60, will be moved up to early July from August, she said. In addition, SpaceX will also launch a resupply mission currently scheduled for June 19. Both will deliver several tons of supplies and food to the space station.
