Posts Tagged ‘Soyuz’

Soyuz 2-1A launches with six Globalstar satellites

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

Starsem’s Soyuz 2-1A launch vehicle has launched six Globalstar satellites from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch was on time, at the opening of the window at 2:27am UTC on Wednesday, following a 24 hour scrub due to a technical issue with the launch pad, which was then followed by an additional one day postponement to [...]

Read more... »

Second digital Soyuz spacecraft docks with ISS

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

The second of Russia’s new digital Soyuz spacecraft, Soyuz TMA-02M/27S, blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday at 8:12 PM GMT, carrying three new crewmembers for the International Space Station (ISS). Following a two day free flight, Soyuz TMA-02M arrived at the ISS on Thursday for a docking to the Mini Research Module-1 [...]

Read more... »

Soyuz TMA-20 captures historic photography prior to perfect landing

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

The Russian Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft, also known by its US designation of 25S, departed from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday after five months on-orbit. Prior to a successful landing, Soyuz TMA-20 participated in a unique and historical event to photograph the ISS while the Space Shuttle Endeavour is docked to the complex, providing [...]

Read more... »

STS-134: ISSP Approves DDO – Soyuz Flyabout Returns to Mission Planning

Saturday, May 14th, 2011

International Space Station (ISS) program managers have approved the use of Dual Docked Operations (DDO) during the upcoming STS-134 mission, the first time such an operation has ever been cleared for use. Managers are also planning to conduct a Soyuz flyabout during the STS-134 mission, per its official return to the mission plan following previous [...]

Read more... »

STS-134: Endeavour heading towards S0007 preparations – mission extended

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

With a large amount of contingency in her pad flow, Endeavour’s processing pace has slowed down this week. The flow is expected to ramp up on Friday as preparations begin for S0007 (Launch Countdown) operations. While the feared government shutdown was averted, memos pre-empting the possibility revealed some insight into the latest launch window planning [...]

Read more... »

STS-134 Soyuz Flyabout Cancelled – Planning switched to STS-135

Saturday, April 9th, 2011

Following a meeting between NASA and Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) managers on Friday, a decision was made to call off the planned Soyuz documentary flyabout of the International Space Station (ISS) and Endeavour during the STS-134/ULF-6 mission, due to concerns with crew impacts in the event that the Soyuz should fail to re-dock with the [...]

Read more... »

Soyuz TMA-21 in commemorative launch to International Space Station

Monday, April 4th, 2011

Russia’s Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft, which also goes by its American designation of 26S, has blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday (4th April) at 10:18:20 PM GMT, carrying three crewmembers for the International Space Station’s (ISS’) Expedition 27 and Expedition 28 crews.

Read more... »

High hopes for Soyuz flyabout during STS-134 following positive planning

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

NASA managers have been presented with a working plan and completed assessments on the potential for a Soyuz flyaround of the Shuttle/Station stack during Endeavour’s docked mission. With many of the hurdles from the cancelled STS-133 flyabout plan removed, the unique event has a high potential of being approved by the International Space Station (ISS) [...]

Read more... »

Russian Soyuz TMA-01M in nominal return to Earth

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

Expedition 26 commander Scott Kelly, along with Russian flight engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexander Kaleri, have returned to Earth, following a nominal re-entry of their Russian Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft. The trio landed in horrendous weather conditions in Kazakhstan, resulting in a speedy evacuation by helicopter.

Read more... »

STS-133: PMM successfully installed – Soyuz flyabout cancelled

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

With the first spacewalk (EVA) of the mission behind them, Discovery’s crew has further completed one of the mission’s primary objectives: the installation of the PMM (Permanent Multipurpose Module) Leonardo, the final U.S. permanent pressurized module, to the International Space Station. Meanwhile, a proposed flyabout by a Russian Soyuz has been formally cancelled.

Read more... »

STS-133: ISS Gears Up for Discovery’s Arrival – Soyuz Flyaround Update

Monday, February 21st, 2011

With the countdown clocks now ticking down for the launch of STS-133 at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) have been hard at work this past week, reconfiguring the station for the arrival of Discovery this Saturday. The reconfiguration period is set to continue this week, as the [...]

Read more... »

OBSS Sensor Protect for Soyuz Flyaround and WLEIDS Status Reviewed

Sunday, February 20th, 2011

NASA is gearing up for what will be a jammed packed STS-133, along with the possibility of a Soyuz fly-around during Discovery’s docked mission still under consideration. To this end, NASA has created a plan to protect Discovery OBSS (Orbiter Boom Sensor System) sensor packages during the proposed maneuver. The vehicle’s Wing Leading Edge Impact Detection [...]

Read more... »

STS-133: NASA Considering Soyuz Flyaround to Photograph Discovery and ISS

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

NASA managers are investigating a proposed plan that would see a Soyuz spacecraft undock from the International Space Station (ISS) during the upcoming STS-133 mission in order to take photographs of the orbital outpost, along with its record number of attached Visiting Vehicles (VVs) and the docked Space Shuttle Discovery.

Read more... »

Soyuz TMA-20 launches to begin busy period on ISS – Docking successful

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

The Russian Soyuz TMA-20, also known by its US designation of 25S, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday at 7:09:25 PM GMT. Following a two-day free flight, TMA-20 successfully dock to the International Space Station (ISS) at the Mini Research Module-1 (MRM-1) Nadir port on Friday 17th December at 8:12 PM [...]

Read more... »

Soyuz TMA-01M docks with ISS as crews conduct hardware installation

Saturday, October 9th, 2010

Soyuz TMA-01M has docked with the International Space Station (ISS) – at 00:01 GMT on Sunday - following a two-day free flight, returning the population of the ISS to six people. The TMA-01M crew will arrive at the ISS in the midst of a busy period of activity, as the Expedition 25 crew work to install [...]

Read more... »

Soyuz TMA-01M launches with trio heading to the ISS

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonauts Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka have begun their journey to the International Space Station (ISS), launching in their Soyuz TMA-01M at 7:10 pm. EDT (23:10 GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They are scheduled to arrive at the Station on Saturday at 8:02 pm EDT (00:02 GMT Sunday).

Read more... »

Soyuz TMA-18 home after second undocking attempt success

Friday, September 24th, 2010

Marking the end of Expedition 24, cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov, Mikhail Kornienko and astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson successfully undocked their Soyuz TMA-18 at the second attempt, before landing at 5:23am GMT. The scheduled undocking was delayed 24 hours, following a problem related to the latch and hooks between the Soyuz and the MRM-2 (Mini Research Module-2) module.

Read more... »

Soyuz TMA-19 relocated as ISS managers discuss Node 4 addition

Monday, June 28th, 2010

The Russian Soyuz TMA-19/23S spacecraft has been relocated from the Zvezda module to dock with the Rassvet (MRM-1) research module during a 30 minute maneuver on Monday. Meanwhile, International Space Station (ISS) managers have been made aware of a Change Request (CR) for preliminary design, integration, and delivery concepts for the addition of Node 4 [...]

Read more... »

Soyuz TMA-19 lifts off for ton-up launch to the ISS

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

ISS veteran Fyodor Yurchikhin, NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock and first time flying Shannon Walker have launched on a three day journey to the International Space Station (ISS), after their Soyuz TMA-19 lifted off at 5:35:19 pm EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They will spend three days on orbit ahead of docking with the [...]

Read more... »

Soyuz TMA-17 lands as Russian Rockot launches SERVIS-2

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Three members of Expedition 23 – Commander Oleg Kotov, Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi – onboard the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft, have landed successfully in Kazakhstan on Wednesday morning local time. Meanwhile, a Russian Rockot has launched the SERVIS-2 satellite from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northern Russia.

Read more... »