While all eyes are on the rendezvous of the Juno spacecraft with Jupiter, tonight on July 4, another major space event will take place this week.
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will launch at 9:36 PM EDT Wed, July 6 (7:36 AM Baikonur time, July 7) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. All three will spend approximately four months on the International Space Station (ISS), returning to Earth in October.
The trio will travel in an upgraded Soyuz MS 01 spacecraft, spend two days in 34 Earth orbits, testing upgraded systems – before docking with the space station’s Rassvet module at 12:12 AM EDT Saturday, July 9.
Hatches between the Soyuz and station will be opened about 2:50 a.m. Saturday, when the newly arrived crew will be greeted by Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams of NASA and Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos.
See the NASA ISS web site for news and TV coverage times.
Together, the Expedition 48 crew members will continue the several hundred experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science currently under way and scheduled to take place aboard humanity’s only orbiting laboratory.
U.S. Human Spaceflight
Since the retirement of the US Space Shuttle in 2011, only Russia and China have maintained human spaceflight capability with the Soyuz program and Shenzhou program. Currently, all expeditions to the International Space Station use Soyuz vehicles, which remain attached to the station to allow quick return if needed. The United States is developing commercial crew transportation to facilitate domestic access to ISS and low Earth orbit, as well as the Orion vehicle for beyond-low Earth orbit applications.
The Soyuz MS spacecraft
The Soyuz MS is the latest generation of the Russia’s crewed Soyuz spacecraft used to transport crews to and from the ISS. Soyuz made its debut in 1966 and has undergone many upgrades since then. The latest Soyuz MS upgrade does not change the overall appearance of the spacecraft and is largely focused on upgrades to communications and navigation systems using modern electronics.
Soyuz spacecraft utilize the Soyuz FG launch vehicle operated from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
The MS series succeeds the Soyuz TMA-M spacecraft series. Soyuz MS will be succeeded by Russia’s next generation human spacecraft, Federation.
As shown below, the Soyuz Spacecraft consists of three separable sections - the Orbital Module, the Entry (Descent) Module and the Instrumentation Module.
The Orbital Module is used to carry cargo and equipment to space and houses equipment required to allow the crew to live in space. Once in Orbit, the crew opens the hatch and can use the Orbital Module as habitable module.
The Entry (Descent) module houses vehicle control systems and crew seats. The crew is isolated in the Entry Module for launch and landing.
The Instrumentation Modules contains the Main Engine and the liquid-fueled propulsion system. The Propulsion System is used for attitude control maneuvers, Rendezvous and Orbit Adjustments as well as the de-orbit burn. A pressurized container includes systems for thermal control, electric power supply, communications, telemetry and navigation.
During reentry, the Entry Module brings the crew back to Earth; the other two modules burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
Inside the Soyuz spacecraft (from 2014)
The International Space Station (ISS)
ISS is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit (330 to 435 km altitude, orbital period 92.69 minutes). Its first component was launched into orbit in 1998.
The ISS consists of pressurized modules, external trusses, solar arrays, and other components. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and American Space Shuttles.
The ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments inbiology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields.The station is suited for the testing of spacecraft systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon and Mars.
The ISS
The Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft docked at the ISS, Dec 2015
Photo Gallery
Here are some pictures, mainly from spaceflight101.com/..., showing events leading to the launch on July 6.
The Expedition 48/49 crew members – Commander Anatoli Ivanishin, Takuya Onishi and Kate Rubins – arrive at the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the final two weeks of training operations.
A break from training — a traditional ceremony in a Kazakh “yurt” or tent. From Dec 2015.
Expedition 48-49 crew members Kate Rubins of NASA (left), Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and backup crew members Peggy Whitson of NASA, Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency
Pre-launch blessings!
NASA videos ...
Launch and flight details at russianspaceweb.com/…
The Soyuz MS 01 spacecraft was launched successfully into a low-earth orbit, Thursday morning at Baikonur Cosmodrome. spaceflight101.com/...
The Soyuz MS 01 spacecraft made a fully automated approach and docked with the ISS at 0:06 EDT July 9. The astronauts entered the ISS at 2:26 a.m. EDT .
All aboard