ROSCOSMOS - Soyuz MS-20 Mission patch.
Dec. 8, 2021
The crew members of the Soyuz MS-20 manned spacecraft opened the transfer hatches between the spacecraft and the Poisk module of the Russian segment of the International Space Station. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and space flight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano, whose tourist flight is under a contract with Space Adventures, have boarded the ISS.
Image above: Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and space flight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano join Expedition 66 crew on ISS. Image Credit: Roscosmos.
After opening the hatches on the ISS, a crew of 10 began to work, consisting of Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov, Peter Dubrov and Alexander Misurkin, as well as NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hai, Raj Chari, Thomas Marshburn, Kayla Barron, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and Japanese tourists Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano.
The flight of the 20th visiting crew takes place against the background of the flight of the main expedition ISS-66. The planned duration of the "tourist" flight is 12 days.
Soyuz MS-20 hatch opening
Video above: The Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft hatch was opened on 8 December 2021, at 16:11 UTC (19:11 MSK, 11:11 EST). Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin (Aлександр Мисуркин) and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa (前澤 友作) and Yozo Hirano (平野 陽三) begin a 12 days mission on the International Space Station (ISS), being scheduled for a landing in Kazakhstan on 20 December 2021.
The ISS also delivered about 162 kg of payload, including materials for biomedical research and experiments, consumable equipment, hygiene products, food rations and 13 kg of fresh fruit. Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov received congratulatory correspondence from relatives and friends, personal gifts and favorite pieces of music, as well as homemade treats for the festive table for the New Year.
Tourist flight to the table for the New Year
In 2019, Roscosmos State Corporation and Space Adventures signed a contract for the implementation of a short-term space flight to the International Space Station by two non-professional cosmonauts on the Soyuz MS spacecraft. The flight of Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano on the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft was announced on May 13, 2021. Soon, Dmitry Rogozin, General Director of the Roscosmos State Corporation, approved the crews, and at the end of the month they began training at the Cosmonaut Training Center.
Maezawa is a Japanese businessman, founder of Zozo Inc., is the 14th richest person in Japan. Hirano is a producer at Space Today. On the ISS, Hirano will be responsible for lighting Maezawa's flight.
Yusaku Maezawa said that he has a list of about 100 tasks that he plans to perform on the ISS. Among them, including the game of badminton. The crew members will communicate in English. However, during the pre-flight press conference, Alexander Misurkin said that the Japanese participants in the flight had already begun to learn Russian, and he - Japanese. On board the ISS and after the flight, they hope to continue learning languages.
The first office on the ISS
Roscosmos State Corporation and the Russian news agency TASS on November 17, 2021 signed a memorandum of cooperation, which implies the creation of the agency's office on board the International Space Station. The first TASS correspondent in orbit will be Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. He will talk about life and work at the station, his news can be read on the agency's information resources, and photos and videos can be viewed on the website and official pages in social networks.
Readers of the agency will be able to learn more about the work of astronauts in orbit, scientific experiments, and the specifics of space flight. The direct participants in the process - the cosmonauts of Roskosmos - will talk about this.
Related article:
Soyuz Trio Blasts off to Station for 11-Day Stay
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/12/soyuz-trio-blasts-off-to-station-for-11.html
Related links:
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/33559/
Soyuz MS-20: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/sojuz-ms-20/
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/mks/
Image (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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