The Soyuz MS-18 rocket blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying three Expedition 65 crew members to the space station.
Nearly nine minutes after a successful launch at 3:42 a.m. EDT of the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos safely reached orbit. They have begun a two-orbit, three-hour flight to reach the International Space Station and join the Expedition 64 crew. At the time of launch, the station was flying about 259 miles over northern Uzbekistan, 335 miles behind the Soyuz as it left the launch pad.
This is the second spaceflight for Vande Hei, the third for Novitskiy, and the first for Dubrov. They will dock the Soyuz to the station’s Rassvet module at 7:07 a.m. Coverage of the docking will begin on NASA TV and the agency’s website, and the NASA app at 6:15 a.m.
About two hours after docking, hatches between the Soyuz and the station will open, and they will join NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins, who arrived on the station with Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos in October 2020, and the crew of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience – NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi – who have been in orbit since November.
NASA TV is Live Covering Soyuz Rocket Launching Station Crew
(From top to bottom) Expedition 65 crew members Pyotr Dubrov, Mark Vande Hei and Oleg Novitskiy wave bye before boarding their Soyuz MS-18 rocket for a liftoff to the space station.
Live launch coverage is underway on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app for the targeted lift off at 3:42 a.m. EDT (12:42 p.m. in Baikonur), of a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy and Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos will begin a three-hour journey to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft. Their journey will be the second time a Soyuz crew has taken the fast-track, two-orbit rendezvous path to the space station.
The new crew members will dock to the station’s Rassvet module at 7:07 a.m. They will temporarily increase the station’s population to 10 as they join the Expedition 64 Expedition 64 crew including NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins, Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, and the crew of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience – NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi.
Ryzhikov, Kud-Sverchkov, and Rubins will depart the station on Friday, April 16, landing in Kazakhstan in the Soyuz MS-17 that carried them to the space station in October 2020 and completing their six-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory.
At approximately 9 a.m., about two hours after docking, hatches between the Soyuz and the station will open, and the 10 crew members will greet each other.
NASA TV Broadcasts Friday Launch to Station on Soyuz Crew Ship
Expedition 65 crew members (from left) Mark Vande Hei, Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov pose for a portrait at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia.
A trio of space travelers, including NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, is scheduled to launch aboard the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station at 3:42 a.m. EDT (12:42 p.m. Kazakhstan time) Friday, April 9.
Beginning at 2:45 a.m., NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app will provide live coverage of the crew’s launch. Teams at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan are making final preparations for the liftoff of Vande Hei and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov.
The launch will send the crew members on a two-orbit, three-hour journey to the space station, where they will join the Expedition 64 crew, temporarily increasing the orbiting laboratory’s population to 10 people.
They will join NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins, who arrived on the station with Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos in October 2020, and the crew of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience – NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi – who have been in orbit since November.
It will be the second spaceflight for Vande Hei, the third for Novitskiy, and the first for Dubrov. The launch comes three days before the 60th anniversary of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s launch to become the first human in space and the 40th anniversary of the first launch of NASA’s space shuttle.
During their six-month mission, the Expedition 65 crew will continue work on hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science, and Earth science aboard the International Space Station, humanity’s only permanently occupied microgravity laboratory. Work on the unique microgravity laboratory advances scientific knowledge and demonstrates new technologies, making research breakthroughs that will enable long-duration human and robotic exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Below is the crew’s launch timeline in EDT:
April 8 EDT L-Hr/M/SecEvent
18:05:41pm 9:37:00 Crew wakeup at Cosmonaut Hotel (time appx)
21:05:41pm 6:37:00 Crew departs Cosmonaut Hotel (time appx)
21:50:41pm 5:52:00 Crew arrives at Site 254
21:57:41pm 5:45:00 Batteries installed in booster
22:35:41pm 5:07:00 Crew suit up
22:42:41pm 5:00:00 Tanking begins
23:37:41pm 4:05:00 Booster loaded with liquid oxygen; crew meets with officials
23:56:41pm 3:46:00 Crew walkout from 254; boards bus for the launch pad
April 9 EDT
00:01:41am 3:41:00 Crew departs for launch pad at Site 31
00:37:41am 3:05:00 First and second stage oxygen fueling complete
01:11:41am 2:31:00 Crew arrives at launch pad at site 31
01:17:41am 2:25:00 Crew boards Soyuz; strapped in to the Descent module
02:07:41am 1:35:00 Descent module hardware tested
02:22:41am 1:20:00 Hatch closed; leak checks begin
02:42:41am 1:00:00 Launch vehicle control system prep; gyro activation
02:45:00am :57:41 NASA TV LAUNCH COVERAGE BEGINS
02:57:41am :45:00 Pad service structure components lowered
02:58:41am :44:00 Clamshell gantry service towers retracted
03:05:00am :37:41 NASA TV: Crew pre-launch activities played (B-roll)
03:05:41am :37:00 Suit leak checks begin; descent module testing complete
03:08:41am :34:00 Emergency escape system armed
03:27:41am :15:00 Suit leak checks complete; escape system to auto
03:32:41am :10:00 Gyros in flight readiness and recorders activated
03:35:41am :07:00 Pre-launch operations complete
03:36:41am :06:00 Launch countdown operations to auto; vehicle ready
03:37:41am :05:00 Commander’s controls activated
03:38:41am :04:00 Combustion chamber nitrogen purge
03:39:41am :03:00 Propellant drainback
03:39:58am :02:43 Booster propellant tank pressurization
03:41:11am :01:30 Ground propellant feed terminated
03:41:41am :01:00 Vehicle to internal power
03:42:06am :00:35 First umbilical tower separates
Auto sequence start
03:42:11am :00:30 Ground umbilical to third stage disconnected
03:42:26am :00:15 Second umbilical tower separates
03:42:29am :00:12 Launch command issued
Engine Start Sequence Begins
03:42:31am :00:10 Engine turbopumps at flight speed
03:42:36am :00:05 Engines at maximum thrust 03:42:41am :00:00 LAUNCH OF SOYUZ MS-18 TO THE ISS 03:43:23am +:00:42 ISS FLIES OVER THE BAIKONUR COSMODROME 03:51:27am +8:46 Third stage separation and orbital insertion for the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft
New Crew Launching Early Friday as Science Continues on Station
(From left) A Russian crew ship and a Russian cargo craft are pictured docked to the station as it orbited into a sunrise above the South Pacific.
It is the day before three new Expedition 65 crew members launch and dock to the International Space Station from Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, three orbital lab residents are preparing to return to Earth while the rest of the crew studies space science and keeps the station in tip-top shape.
The Soyuz MS-18 rocket that will liftoff Friday at 3:42 a.m. EDT with one NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts was blessed on Thursday by a Russian Orthodox priest. The traditional ceremony takes place at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad before each Soyuz crew mission.
Two veteran station residents, Mark Vande Hei of NASA and Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, will take a ride to the station with first time space-flyer Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos. Novitskiy will lead the short space flight to the station’s Rassvet module where the Soyuz crew ship will dock at 7:07 a.m. The hatches will open about two hours later and the trio will join seven new crewmates for a welcoming ceremony with officials on the ground. NASA TV will broadcast the launch and docking activities beginning at 2:45 a.m.
Little more than a week after the new crew’s arrival, three Expedition 64 residents will end their stay in space and land on Earth inside the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, will undock from the Poisk module officially ending their mission on April 16 at 9:33 p.m. They will parachute to a landing inside their Soyuz crew ship less than three-and-a-half hours later in Kazakhstan.
Science is keeping pace aboard the space station as the crew explored biotechnology and fluid physics today. The astronauts also worked on life support systems and U.S. spacesuit components.
Hopkins also serviced nitrogen and oxygen transfer gear inside the station’s Atmospheric Control System. Glover assisted NASA Flight Engineer Shannon Walker as she swapped parts on U.S. spacesuits. Finally, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi installed a materials exposure study in the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock where it will soon be placed into the harsh space environment for observation.
Station Readies for Expanded Crew as Science Stays in Focus
A waning gibbous Moon is pictured above the Earth’s horizon as the space station orbited 269 miles above the Atlantic Ocean.
The Expedition 64 crew is getting ready to welcome three new crew members who are due to launch on Friday to the International Space Station. Meanwhile, a variety of space research activities are underway aboard the orbiting lab today.
One NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are in final preparations for their liftoff on a Soyuz rocket set for Friday at 3:42 a.m. EDT. Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Pyotr Dubrov will flank Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy for the short trip to the station inside the new Soyuz MS-18 crew ship.
Docking of the new Expedition 65 trio to the Rassvet module is planned for 7:07 a.m. The crew will open the hatch after leak and pressure checks and enter the station about 9 a.m. A welcoming ceremony with the expanded 10-person crew along with participants on the ground will occur shortly afterward. NASA TV will broadcast the launch and docking activities beginning at 2:45 a.m.
NASA Flight Engineers Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker are busy readying the station to temporarily accommodate the new crew members. The trio is setting up extra sleep stations for this month’s crew swaps when there will be as many as 11 people occupying the space station.
Biomedical studies, or human research, is always ongoing aboard the station. Saliva and blood sample collections were the first tasks of the day for Hopkins, Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov. Glover scanned his own neck, leg and cardiac veins with an ultrasound device then checked his blood pressure for the Vascular Aging study.
