Ready for Liftoff: Soyuz MS-24 Spacecraft Launching Next Space Station Crew Today

Mission managers have given the go for the launch of three new crew members aboard the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft to the International Space StationThe International Space Station (ISS) is a large spacecraft in orbit around the Earth that serves as a research laboratory and spaceport for international collaboration in space exploration. It was launched in 1998 and has been continuously occupied by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts from around the world since 2000. The ISS is a joint project of five space agencies: NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). It orbits the Earth at an altitude of approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles), and provides a unique platform for scientific research, technological development, and human space exploration.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>International Space Station at 11:44 a.m. EDTEDT is an abbreviation for Eastern Daylight Time, the time zone for the eastern coast of the United States and Canada when observing daylight saving time (spring/summer). It is four hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, and the Kennedy Space Center are in the Eastern Time Zone (ET).” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>EDT today, Friday, September 15. NASAEstablished in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is "To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity." Its core values are "safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion." NASA conducts research, develops technology and launches missions to explore and study Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond. It also works to advance the state of knowledge in a wide range of scientific fields, including Earth and space science, planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics, and it collaborates with private companies and international partners to achieve its goals.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and RoscosmosRoscosmos, also known as the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, is the Russian government agency responsible for space activities, including the development and operation of spacecraft, launch vehicles, and space stations. It was formed in 2015 through the merger of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and the United Rocket and Space Corporation. Roscosmos is responsible for Russia's space program and works closely with other international space agencies on joint projects, such as the International Space Station. The agency is also involved in a wide range of space-related activities, including scientific research, earth observation, telecommunications, and manned spaceflight.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub will ride the Soyuz crew ship and dock to the Rassvet module just over three hours later at 2:56 p.m.

Arrival and Integration

Expedition 69 Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will be on duty Friday monitoring the arrival of the new Soyuz. After the new crew docks and after leak and pressure checks, Prokopyev will open the station’s Rassvet hatch while Kononenko and Chub will open the Soyuz hatch. The new trio will enter the orbital outpost, join the station crew for a welcoming ceremony, participate in a safety briefing, and begin a six-month space research mission.

Preparation Activities

Prokopyev and Petelin continued preparing for the arrival of the new trio by setting up crew quarters for the new cosmonauts inside the orbital lab’s Roscosmos segment on Thursday. NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio will configure O’Hara’s new crew quarters in the Columbus laboratory module on Friday before she arrives.

The Soyuz rocket is seen after being rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 70 NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft on September 15. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Upcoming Departure

Prokopyev, Petelin, and Rubio are also preparing for their return to Earth inside the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft on September 27. The two cosmonauts have been testing the lower body negative pressure suit that may help their bodies adjust quicker to Earth’s gravity after living in weightlessness for just over one year. When Rubio lands with his Soyuz crewmates, he will have the record for the longest single spaceflight by a NASA astronaut at 371 days, surpassing astronaut Mark Vande Hei’s record of 355 days.

Scientific Endeavors

Rubio joined several of his Expedition 69 crewmates on Thursday for the Vascular Aging study collecting blood, urine, and saliva samples for analysis. Rubio along with astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, and Satoshi Furukawa assisted each other with the blood draws. Moghbeli of NASA closed out the study spinning samples in a centrifuge and then stowing them in a science freezer.

Additional Activities

Mogensen of ESA (European Space AgencyThe European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the exploration and study of space. ESA was established in 1975 and has 22 member states, with its headquarters located in Paris, France. ESA is responsible for the development and coordination of Europe's space activities, including the design, construction, and launch of spacecraft and satellites for scientific research and Earth observation. Some of ESA's flagship missions have included the Rosetta mission to study a comet, the Gaia mission to create a 3D map of the Milky Way, and the ExoMars mission to search for evidence of past or present life on Mars.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>European Space Agency) later trained to operate the Canadarm2 robotic arm and serviced laptop computers in the Columbus lab. Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) set up food and drinks for the arriving crew and collected water samples for analysis from the Kibo laboratory module.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov focused his activities on orbital plumbing and electronics maintenance during the first part of his day. In the afternoon, he checked out video hardware and laptop computers.