The humanoid contraption was the only passenger aboard a Soyuz capsule that launched on Wednesday.
Footage of a recent Soyuz launch shows the harrowing moment the rocket was hit by a bolt from the blue.
One of the cosmonauts who investigated the hole maintains that it was drilled from inside the capsule.
The crewed mission is the first since October, when two astronauts were forced to make an emergency landing.
NASA has stated that it is still committed to using Russian Soyuz rockets to launch astronauts to the ISS.
Two astronauts narrowly escaped disaster today when their Soyuz rocket developed a problem with its booster.
Lieutenant Norishige Kanai has grown so much while in space that he may no longer fit in the Soyuz capsule.
Tim Peake, Tim Kopra and Yuri Malenchenko touched down safely aboard their Soyuz capsule on Saturday.
The Soyuz spacecraft has successfully arrived at the station following a tense manual docking maneuver.
Two Russians and one US astronaut have successfully launched from Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz spacecraft.
Russia's space endeavours haven't gone to plan lately as another Soyuz rocket fails after lift-off.
Russia have returned to the ISS with a manned Soyuz launch from Kazakhstan carrying three astronauts.
The International Space Station may soon become unmanned following the recent Soyuz crash.
For the first time since 1964 the Russian space programme is making the Moon its main objective as Russian officials pre...