Russia to launch backup Soyuz spacecraft to ISS following leak

FILE PHOTO: A stream of particles, which NASA says appears to be liquid and possibly coolant, sprays out of the Soyuz spacecraft on the International Space Station, forcing a delay of a routine planned spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts December 14, 2022 in this still image taken from video. NASA TV/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's space agency said on Wednesday it would launch a Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft on Feb. 20 to bring home two cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut from the International Space Station (ISS) after their original capsule sprang a coolant leak last month.

"The expedition of Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Francisco Rubio to the ISS is being extended. They will return to Earth on Soyuz MS-23," Roscosmos said.