The Latest Soyuz Launch Sends Three New Astronauts To The ISS

NASA has shared a video and images of the launch of Expedition 64/65 crew members to the ISS. Recently, American astronauts have been traveling to the ISS aboard SpaceX capsules. This time, the trio of astronauts, including one NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts, lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Astronauts aboard the Expedition 65 mission include Russian cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei.The launch is a two-orbit, three-hour journey to dock with the ISS Rassvet module. NASA began airing launch coverage at 2:45 AM. Vande Hei is on his second spaceflight, Novitskiy marks his third, and the mission is the first for Dubrov. The three new crew members join the Expedition 64 crew consisting of Kate Rubins, Sergey Ryzhikov, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi.

The Soyuz spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the station at 7:07 AM, with NASA promising coverage of the rendezvous and docking starting at 6:15 AM. About two hours after docking, the hatch between the Soyuz capsule and the ISS will be opened, and the ten crewmembers will greet each other.

Coverage of the hatch opening along with crew and flight control remarks will begin at 8:30 AM. The three new astronauts will be part of Expedition 64 and Expedition 65. When Rubins, Ryzhikov, and Kud-Sverchkov leave the ISS on Friday, April 16, Expedition 65 will begin. The crewmembers will continue working on hundreds of ongoing experiments aboard the ISS in biology, biotechnology, physical science, and Earth science. A video of the launch can be viewed above.