Soyuz Spacecraft Docks to Station With Three Crew Members Aboard
The Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft approaches the station for docking. Credit: NASA TV
NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft docked to the International Space Station at 11:03 a.m. EDT.
Coverage of hatch opening will air live at 1:15 p.m. on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
Once on station, the trio will join Expedition 70 crew members including NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebenkin, already living and working aboard the space station.
Dyson will spend six months aboard the station as an Expedition 70 and 71 flight engineer, returning to Earth in September with Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub of Roscosmos, who will complete a year-long mission on the laboratory.
Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya will be aboard the station for 12 days, providing the ride home for O’Hara on Saturday, April 6, aboard Soyuz MS-24 for a parachute-assisted landing on steppe of Kazakhstan. O’Hara will have spent 204 days in space when she returns.
Three Crew Members Arriving to Station Soon Live on NASA TV
The Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft carrying three crew members approaches the International Space Station for a docking to the Rassvet module.
NASA+, NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app now are providing live coverage of the docking of Soyuz MS-25 to the International Space Station. The Soyuz is scheduled to dock at approximately 11:09 a.m. EDT.
NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus launched safely on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft at 8:36 a.m. March 23 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 23, 2024. Credit: NASA TV
NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus are safely in orbit on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft after launching at 8:36 a.m. EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (5:36 p.m. Baikonur time).
The Soyuz will dock to the space station’s Prichal module about 11:09 a.m. Monday, March 25. About two hours after docking, hatches between the Soyuz and the station will open.
NASA docking coverage will begin at 10:15 a.m. on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
Three Crew Members Launching to Station Aboard Soyuz Spacecraft Live on NASA TV
Soyuz MS-25 crew members (from left) Tracy Dyson from NASA, Oleg Novitskiy from Roscosmos, and Marina Vasilevskaya from Belarusia pose for a portrait at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia. They will serve aboard the International Space Station as Expedition 71 crew members. Credit: GCTC/Andrey Shelepin
NASA coverage now is underway for the launch of a crewed Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus.
The Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8:36 a.m. EDT (5:36 p.m. Baikonur time). Coverage of launch will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
The Soyuz will dock to the space station’s Prichal module at 11:09 a.m. Monday, March 25. Shortly after, hatches between the Soyuz and the station will open and the crew members will greet each other.
Docking coverage will begin at 10:15 a.m. March 25 on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Once aboard station, the trio will join Expedition 70 crew members including NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebenkin.
Dyson will spend six months aboard the station as an Expedition 70 and 71 flight engineer, returning to Earth in September with Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub of Roscosmos, who will complete a year-long mission on the laboratory.
Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya will be aboard the station for 12 days, providing the ride home for O’Hara on Saturday, April 6, aboard Soyuz MS-24 for a parachute-assisted landing on steppe of Kazakhstan. O’Hara will have spent 204 days in space when she returns.
NASA coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and are subject to change based on real-time operations):
Saturday, March 23
8:36 a.m. – Launch
Monday, March 25
10:15 a.m. – Rendezvous and docking coverage begins
11:09 a.m. – Docking
1:15 p.m. – Hatch opening and welcome remarks coverage begins
Dragon Spacecraft Docks to Station With New Science, Supplies
The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft docks to the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 7:19 a.m. EDT Saturday, March 23. Credit: NASA TV
While the International Space Station was traveling more than 262 miles over the South Atlantic Ocean, a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft autonomously docked to station’s Harmony module at 7:19 a.m. EDT, with NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Michael Barratt monitoring operations from the station.
The Dragon launched on SpaceX’s 30th contracted commercial resupply mission for NASA at 4:55 p.m. EDT, March 21, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. After Dragon spends about one month attached to the space station, the spacecraft will return to Earth with cargo and research.
Among the science experiments Dragon is delivering to the space station are:
Monitoring Sea Ice Thickness and Wave Height
(Nanoracks-Killick-1) is a CubeSat that measures sea ice parameters using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reflectometry or reflected signals. This monitoring system could contribute to a better understanding of important ocean phenomena and improved weather and climate models.
New Sensors for ASTROBEE
The Multi-resolution Scanner (MRS) Payload for the Astrobee (Multi-Resolution Scanning) tests a new set of sensors to support automated 3D sensing, mapping, and situational awareness functions. These systems could support future Gateway and Lunar surface missions by providing automated defect detection, automated and remote maintenance, and autonomous vehicle operations.
Improving Efficiency of Quantum-Dot Solar Cells
The Nano Particle Haloing Suspension payload tests the controlled assembly of nanoparticles in a liquid solution. A process called nanoparticle haloing uses charged nanoparticles to enable precise particle arrangements that improve the efficiency of quantum-dot synthesized solar cells. Conducting these processes in microgravity provides insight into the relationship between shape, charge, concentration, and interaction of particles.
Observing Photosynthesis in Space
Advanced Plant Experiment-09 (APEX-09), also known as C4 Photosynthesis in Space, observes carbon dioxide capture and mechanisms in two types of grasses. Researchers hope to learn more about photosynthesis and plant metabolism changes overall in space. Knowledge gained could support development of bioregenerative life support systems on future missions.
These are just a few of the hundreds of investigations currently being conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Advances in these areas will help keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration beyond low-Earth orbit to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis missions and eventually Mars.
