The launch of a Soyuz capsule carrying the new International Space Station (ISS) crew may be postponed over faults in the capsule’s assembly, a source within the Russian space industry told RIA Novosti on Friday.
The three new crew members - Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin and Joseph Acaba - are currently scheduled to launch on March 30 and dock two days later, bringing the station’s crew back up to six.
“The liftoff will be postponed. Most likely until the end of April from March 30, but more exact information will be available only when the special commission finishes its work,” he said.
The current crew will have to remain aboard ISS a little longer, he said. “Their stay is so short, it can easily be prolonged.”
Testing on Sunday discovered an air leak in the capsule.
