Mission Reports

Russia to launch replacement for damaged Soyuz crew ship at space station

Russian space agency and NASA officials said Wednesday they will accelerate the launch of the next Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station, and fly it to the complex next month without anyone on-board to replace a Soyuz crew ferry ship damaged Dec. 14 by a high-speed impact, likely from a tiny particle from deep space. The schedule shuffle will mean two Russian cosmonauts and one U.S. astronaut will stay in space several months beyond their planned return to Earth in late March.