ROSCOSMOS - Soyuz MS-17 Mission patch.
October 14, 2020
Image above: (Front row from left) Expedition 64 crew members Kate Rubins, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov join Expedition 63 crew members (back row from left) Ivan Vagner, Anatoly Ivanishin and Chris Cassidy inside the space station’s Zvezda service module. Image Credit: NASA TV.
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos joined Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner aboard the International Space Station when the hatches between the Soyuz spacecraft and the orbiting laboratory officially opened at 7:07 a.m. EDT.
Soyuz MS-17 hatch opening
The arrival temporarily restores the station’s crew complement to six for the remainder of Expedition 63.
Expedition 64 begins Wednesday, Oct. 21, with the departure of Cassidy, Vagner, and Ivanishin in the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft that brought them to the station on April 9. Cassidy will hand command of the station to Ryzhikov during a ceremony with all crew members that is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20 and will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
The Expedition 64 crew will conduct research in technology development, Earth science, biology, human research and more. During Rubins’ first spaceflight in 2016, she became the first person to sequence DNA in space. Research conducted in microgravity helps NASA prepare for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, and contributes to improvements for life on Earth.
This is the second spaceflight for Rubins and Ryzhikov. Kud-Sverchkov becomes the 241st person to visit the unique microgravity laboratory, and the trio will be aboard to celebrate the 20th anniversary of uninterrupted human presence since the Expedition 1 crew arrived Nov. 2, 2000. Humanity’s home in space has hosted more than 3,000 research and educational investigations from people in 108 countries and areas.
During Expedition 64, the arrival of Crew-1 aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon on the first operational commercial mission to the space station will bring four more crew members, expanding a long-duration Expedition crew to seven people for the first time. Crew-1 is currently targeted for launch in November.
Expedition 64 Crew Docks to Station to Begin Six-Month Mission
Image above: The Soyuz MS-17 crew ship with the Expedition 64 crew inside is pictured just a few meters away from the Rassvet module’s docking port. Image Credit: NASA TV.
The Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov docked to the International Space Station at 4:48 a.m. EDT while both spacecraft were flying about 261 miles above the Mediterranean Sea.
Soyuz MS-17 docking
Aboard the space station, Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner will welcome the new crew members when the hatches between the two spacecraft are opened following standard pressurization and leak checks.
Expedition 64 Crew Blasts off on Express Ride to Station
Soyuz MS-17 launch
Nearly nine minutes after a successful launch at 1:45 a.m. EDT of the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos safely reached orbit.
Soyuz MS-17 launch
They have begun a two-orbit, three-hour flight to reach the International Space Station and join the Expedition 63 crew. At the time of launch, the station was flying about 259 miles over northwest Uzbekistan at the border with Kazakhstan, 339 statute miles ahead the Soyuz as it left the launch pad.
Image above: Expedition 64 crew members (from left) Kate Rubins of NASA and Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos in front of the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft. Image Credit: ROSCOSMOS.
This is the second spaceflight for Rubins and Ryzhikov and the first for Kud-Sverchkov.
Rubins and the two Russian cosmonauts will dock the Soyuz to the station’s Rassvet module at 4:52 a.m.
Related article:
Three Space Travelers Countdown to Early Wednesday Launch
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/10/three-space-travelers-countdown-to.html
Related links:
NASA Television: https://www.nasa.gov/live
Expedition 63: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition63/index.html
Expedition 64: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition64/index.html
Crew-1: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-spacex-to-launch-first-commercial-crew-rotation-mission-to-international-space-station
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Images, Videos, Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia/NASA TV/ROSCOSMOS/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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