The Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Monday that it would delay the launch of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, which was supposed to return three astronauts to Earth, until early March at the latest after another spacecraft docked to the International Space Station was a new leak has been detected. Space station (ISS), reports AFP.

On Saturday, Roscosmos said in a statement that it had detected “a drop in pressure on the Progress MS-21 cargo ship, which is scheduled to detach from the ISS on February 18,” and was “investigating the causes.”

“The temperature and pressure on board the ISS are within normal limits,” the Russian agency said, assuring the crew that they were not in danger.

On Monday, the head of Roscosmos, Yuriy Borisov, said that due to the incident, the cause of which is being investigated by an “emergency commission,” “the launch of the Soyuz MS-23 unmanned spacecraft has been postponed for the first decade of March at the latest.”

This new incident comes two months after the first leak in a spacecraft docked to the ISS that was supposed to return two Russian cosmonauts and their American colleague Frank Rubio to Earth.

According to a photo released by Roscosmos on Monday, the leak, which left a brown stain on the outer part of the spacecraft, caused a “slight” increase in temperature, the Russian agency reported.

Forced to find a solution, the agency planned to send another spacecraft to pick up the trio of astronauts, whose mission is due to end in the coming days.

It was this spare ship that was officially laid aside on Monday.

“Although the outcome of the two emergencies is the same, the causes may be different,” Borissov said Monday of the two leaks, which happened almost back-to-back.

The SSI is one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between Moscow and Washington after the February 24 launch of Russia’s offensive against Ukraine and the Western sanctions that followed.