ROSCOSMOS - Soyuz MS-16 Mission patch.
April 9, 2020
Image above: The Soyuz MS-16 crew ship carrying the Exp 63 crew approaches its docking port on the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA TV.
The Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner docked to the International Space Station at 10:13 a.m. EDT while both spacecraft were flying about 260 miles above the Atlantic Ocean.
Soyuz MS-16 docking
Aboard the space station, NASA Flight Engineers Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir and Expedition 62 Commander Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos will welcome the new crew members when the hatches between the two spacecraft are opened following standard pressurization and leak checks.
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, along with Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of the Russian space agency Roscosmos joined Expedition 62 Commander Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos and NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir aboard the International Space Station when the hatches between the Soyuz spacecraft and the orbiting laboratory officially opened at 12:28 p.m. EDT.
Soyuz MS-16 hatch opening
The arrival temporarily restores the station’s crew complement to six for the remainder of Expedition 62.
Cassidy, Morgan, and Meir are set to participate in a crew news conference at 10:45 a.m. EDT Friday, April 10. The teleconference will stream on NASA TV and the agency’s website. Recorded video of the crew working on the International Space Station will air at 10:30 a.m.
Image above: The new Expedition 63 crew joined the Expedition 62 crew today a board the International Space Station. (Front row from left) NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. (Back row from left) NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir. Image Credit: NASA TV.
Skripochka, Morgan, and Meir will undock in their Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft to return to Earth April 17. At the time of undocking, Expedition 63 will begin with Cassidy as the commander for a mission of more than six months during which they will conduct about 160 science investigations in fields such as, biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences, and technology development. 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.
The crew members of Expedition 63 are scheduled to be aboard the station to welcome the first commercial crew spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who will arrive on NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 flight test, currently targeted to launch in mid-to-late May.
It is the third spaceflight for Cassidy and Ivanishin and the first for Vagner.
Related links:
Expedition 62: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition62/index.html
Expedition 63: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition63/index.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Images (mentioned), Videos, Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia/NASA TV/SciNews.
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