ROSCOSMOS - Soyuz MS-17 Mission patch.
October 13, 2020
Soyuz MS launch. Animation Credits: ROSCOSMOS/NASA
A trio of space travelers, including NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, is scheduled to launch aboard the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station at 1:45 a.m. EDT (10:45 a.m. Kazakhstan time) Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Beginning at 12:45 a.m., NASA Television and the agency’s website will provide live coverage of the crew’s launch. Teams at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan are making final preparations for the liftoff of Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.
Image above: (From left) NASA astronaut Kate Rubins with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will launch to the space station for a six-month research mission. Image Credit: NASA.
The launch will send the crew members on a two-orbit, three-hour journey to the space station, where they will join Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, temporarily increasing the orbiting laboratory’s population to six people.
International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA
It will be the second spaceflight for Rubins and Ryzhikov and the first for Kud-Sverchkov. During their six-month mission, the Expedition 64 crew will conduct research in technology development, Earth science, biology, human research and more. 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.
Below is the crew’s launch timeline in EDT:
Oct. 13 EDT L-Hr/M/Sec Event
15:00:04pm 10:45:00 Crew wakeup at Cosmonaut Hotel
18:45:04pm 7:00:00 Crew departs Cosmonaut Hotel
19:30:04pm 6:15:00 Crew arrives at Site 254
20:00:04pm 5:45:00 Batteries installed in booster
20:15:04pm 5:30:00 Crew suit up
20:45:04pm 5:00:00 Tanking begins
21:40:04pm 4:05:00 Booster loaded with liquid oxygen; crew meets with officials
21:59:04pm 3:46:00 Crew walkout from 254; boards bus for the launch pad
22:04:04pm 3:41:00 Crew departs for launch pad at Site 31
22:40:04pm 3:05:00 First and second stage oxygen fueling complete
23:14:04pm 2:31:00 Crew arrives at launch pad at site 31
23:20:04pm 2:25:00 Crew boards Soyuz; strapped in to the Descent module
Oct. 14 EDT
00:10:04am 1:35:00 Descent module hardware tested
00:25:04am 1:20:00 Hatch closed; leak checks begin
00:45:00am 1:00:04 NASA TV LAUNCH COVERAGE BEGINS
00:45:04am 1:00:00 Launch vehicle control system prep; gyro activation
01:00:04am :45:00 Pad service structure components lowered
01:01:04am :44:00 Clamshell gantry service towers retracted
01:05:04am :40:00 NASA TV: Crew pre-launch activities played (B-roll)
01:08:04am :37:00 Suit leak checks begin; descent module testing complete
01:11:04am :34:00 Emergency escape system armed
01:30:04am :15:00 Suit leak checks complete; escape system to auto
01:35:04am :10:00 Gyros in flight readiness and recorders activated
01:38:04am :07:00 Pre-launch operations complete
01:39:04am :06:00 Launch countdown operations to auto; vehicle ready
01:40:04am :05:00 Commander’s controls activated
01:41:04am :04:00 Combustion chamber nitrogen purge
01:42:04am :03:00 Propellant drainback
01:42:21am :02:43 Booster propellant tank pressurization
01:43:34am :01:30 Ground propellant feed terminated
01:44:04am :01:00 Vehicle to internal power
01:44:19am :00:45 ISS FLIES OVER THE BAIKONUR COSMODROME
01:44:29am :00:35 First umbilical tower separates
Auto sequence start
01:44:34am :00:30 Ground umbilical to third stage disconnected
01:44:49am :00:15 Second umbilical tower separates
01:44:52am :00:12 Launch command issued
Engine Start Sequence Begins
01:44:54am :00:10 Engine turbopumps at flight speed
01:44:59am :00:05 Engines at maximum thrust
01:45:04am :00:00 LAUNCH OF SOYUZ MS-17 TO THE ISS
01:53:50am +8:46 Third stage separation and orbital insertion for the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft.
Related links:
NASA Television: https://www.nasa.gov/live
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Image (mentioned), Animations (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.
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