MOSCOW, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- NASA says crew replacement on the International Space Station will be delayed following the failure of a Russian Soyuz capsule in a ground test.
Russian technicians overpressurized the Soyuz vehicle causing a split in welds on the descent module that brings the space crew back to Earth, Michael Suffredini, NASA's program manager for the space station, told The Washington Post Thursday.
"The better part of valor is to go ahead and scrap it and not try to fly," he said of the incident, the second delay of an ISS crew rotation in six months.
NASA astronaut Joseph Acaba and two Russian cosmonauts, scheduled to launch to the space station March 29, will now fly on another Soyuz craft May 15.
"Looks like I'll b on the Planet a little longer," Acaba tweeted Wednesday. "Issues with our Soyuz during a test will cause a delay. . . . We'll b ready."
The delay will prolong the mission of the current ISS crew, station commander Daniel Burbank of NASA and two Russian crew members, by 45 days.
With the retirement of the space shuttles, NASA relies on Russia to send its astronauts into orbit.
