NASA TV Broadcasting Launch of Expedition 64 Crew to Station
The Soyuz rocket that will launch three Expedition 64 crewmates to the station on Wednesday stands its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: Roscosmos
Live launch coverage is underway on NASA Television and the agency’s website for the targeted lift off at 1:45 a.m. EDT (10:45 a.m. in Baikonur), of a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos will begin a three-hour journey to the International Space Station. Their journey will be the first time a Soyuz crew has taken the fast-track, two-orbit rendezvous path to the space station.
The new crew members will dock to the station’s Rassvet module at 4:52 a.m. They will join Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, who will complete their station mission and land on Earth on the steppe of Kazakhstan Wednesday, Oct. 21, U.S. time, in the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft that brought them to the station on April 9.
About two hours after docking, hatches between the Soyuz and the station will open, and the six crew members will greet each other.
Three Space Travelers Countdown to Early Wednesday Launch
(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.
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.
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.
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
Cancer, Bone Loss Studies on Station Promote Earth and Space Health
Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy unpacks fresh fruit and other food items shipped aboard the Northrop Grumman Cygnus.
Cancer therapy was the main focus of Friday’s research aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 63 crew is also getting ready to return to Earth while still finding time for more science work.
Microgravity research on the station has enabled pharmaceutical innovations with real benefits for patients on Earth. Biology experiments in space also provide insights into how the human body adapts to weightlessness. This helps doctors keep astronauts healthy as NASA plans missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
The Onco-Selectors study taking place today inside the space station’s Life Sciences Glovebox, installed in Japan’s Kibo laboratory module, seeks to develop drugs that could improve the survival rate of cancer patients. Commander Chris Cassidy spent most of Friday mixing and applying a treatment to healthy and cancerous cell samples being observed for the new cancer investigation.
Cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner were once again exploring ways to reverse the loss of bone mass that occurs during a long-term space mission. The Russian duo worked throughout the day setting up hardware and logging meals and drinks to monitor and understand the mechanisms of bone loss caused by weightlessness.
The two cosmonauts are also gearing up for their return to Earth with Cassidy in less than two weeks. They have been gathering station hardware and personal items that will soon be stowed inside the Soyuz MS-16 crew ship. All three crew members will parachute to Earth inside the Soyuz spacecraft ending their 196-day space research mission on Oct. 21.
Crew Missions Ramping Up During Robotics, Biology Research
The Expedition 64 crew poses in front of the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft that will launch the trio to the space station on Oct. 14. Credit: NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin
The Expedition 63 crew is readying gear and suits today as they prepare to return to Earth in less than two weeks. Meanwhile, Thursday’s research aboard the International Space Station looked at robotics and biology.
Two crews will launch to the station and another one will complete its mission this month. First, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins will ride to the station aboard the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft with cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. The Expedition 64 trio crew will blast off from Kazakhstan on Oct. 14 to begin a 185-day mission aboard the orbiting lab.
Expedition 64 Commander Chris Cassidy will hand over the station “keys” to Ryzhikov the day before he completes his mission with Flight Engineers Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. The three crew members will enter the Soyuz MS-16, undock from the Poisk module and parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan on Oct. 21.
Cassidy joined Ivanishin and Vagner during the afternoon and checked for leaks inside the Sokol flight suits they will wear when they depart the station. Ivanishin and Vagner also continued gathering station gear and personal items they will soon pack inside their Soyuz crew ship.
As usual, science experiments are ongoing on the station whether with inputs from the crew or by remote operations from students and scientists on the ground. Robotics is a prime space research subject and Cassidy set up the AstroBee free-flying satellites today that students are learning to program to understand spacecraft maneuvers. The veteran NASA astronaut later installed new hardware on the Life Sciences Glovebox to support prolonged crew operations in the research device.
Ivanishin and Vagner were back on biology studies today exploring ways to prevent the loss of bone mass due to extended missions in space.
Crew Packs for Landing While Studying Space Tech and Biology
The Soyuz MS-16 crew ship is pictured docked to the International Space Station’s Poisk module.
The Expedition 63 trio is packing up and getting ready for its return to Earth as the International Space Station is orbiting slightly lower today. Meanwhile, advanced space science continues full speed ahead aboard the orbiting lab.
Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA is about to wrap up a 196-day mission in space with Roscosmos Flight Engineers Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. The Russian duo has begun gathering hardware and other items that will be packed inside the Soyuz MS-16 crew ship for return to Earth. The three-member crew will enter the Soyuz, undock from the Poisk module and parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan on Oct. 21.
Cassidy spent a busy Wednesday operating a range of science experiments investigating space technology, microbiology and botany. He started the day setting up the Avatar-X camera that seeks to demonstrate remote robotics that may inform the future of telemedicine. Next, he transferred microbe samples, shipped in a Cygnus cargo craft science freezer, that will be observed to learn how to control bacterial growth in space. Finally, Cassidy set up the Spectrum-001 hardware that will enable fluorescent imaging of protein markers and stress signaling in plants grown on the space station.
As the crew counts down to departure, Ivanishin worked on Russian power supply systems and checked radiation measurements. Vagner assisted Cassidy with the Cygnus science freezer work and checked on a pair of Russian studies looking at bone loss and space piloting techniques.
The space station is orbiting slightly lower after the docked Progress 75 spacecraft fired its engines for nearly seven minutes this morning. The “deboost” puts the station in the correct phasing for the docking on Oct. 14 of the Soyuz MS-17 crew ship carrying the Expedition 64 crew aboard.
