According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, the Russian National Aerospace Corporation previously stated that the “Soyuz MS-23” spacecraft will dock with the International Space Station on February 26 to replace the damaged “Soyuz MS-22” spacecraft.

The Russian “Soyuz MS-23” spacecraft was ignited from the Baikonur launch site on February 24, local time as planned. IT Home has reported that the “Alliance MS-23” spacecraft was previously planned to launch at the end of this spring to perform a normal crew rotation mission, but due to the MS-22 failure, it could only be brought forward.

The Russian space group stated that the astronauts on the space station will not be able to manually control the unmanned spacecraft remotely, but the “Soyuz MS-23” has enough fuel. It will also be able to make a second attempt to dock with other experimental modules on the International Space Station.

In addition, the 68th crew of the International Space Station is expected to return to Earth on the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft this September.