Soyuz Trio Arrive at International Space Station

The Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft carrying three astronauts and cosmonauts has arrived at the International Space Station, just under six hours after launching from Kazakhstan.

The Soyuz rocket carrying Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:02 p.m. Irish Standard Time.

Kononenko, Lindgren and Yui spoke to their families on Earth from the
Zvezda Service Module. credit: NASA TV

On reaching Earth orbit less than nine minutes after launch, the Soyuz spacecraft deployed only one of its two solar arrays before successfully deploying the second shortly before docking. After a four orbit rendezvous profile, the Soyuz successfully docked with the Rassvet Module of the International Space Station's Russian segment at 3:45 a.m.

The hatches between the Soyuz and the station were opened at 5:56 a.m. after leak checks were completed, as Kononenko, Lindgren and Yui were greeted by the Expedition 44 prime crew members already aboard the station, restoring the station's crew complement to six people.

The new station residents who are expected to remain on the ISS for the next five months, before returning to Earth in December. They will begin life aboard their new home by adjusting to microgravity and becoming familiar with their surroundings.

This is the third long duration mission mission to the ISS for Soyuz commander Kononenko, who previously flew to the orbital laboratory during Expedition 17 and Expedition 30/31.

Today's arrival at the space station marks the first flight into space for Lindgren and Yui. The pair were both selected as part of the NASA Astronaut Class of 2009.

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Progress Cargo Ship Launches to Resupply Space Station

The Russian Progress M-28M cargo vehicle has successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, marking the beginning of a two day-long commute to resupply the International Space Station.

The Progress lifted off from Pad 1A at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 5:55 a.m. Irish Time carrying 2,381kg of food, fuel and supplies for the crew of Expedition 44.

Progress M-28M launched from Baikonur at 5:55 a.m.
Credit: Roscosmos 

After a flawless ride into orbit aboard a Soyuz-U rocket, the Progress separated from the rocket's third stage after eight minutes and forty-nine seconds of powered flight, deploying its antennas and solar arrays a short time later. 

Initial views from video cameras on board the Progress confirmed that everything was nominal and that all systems were "Go" for mission controllers in Korolev in Moscow to send commands to the vehicle to perform a series of orbital manoeuvres to reach the International Space Station.

Progress is scheduled to dock with the Pirs Docking Compartment on the Russian segment of the orbiting complex at 8:13 a.m. on Sunday morning.

This morning's launch comes just two months after the Progress M-27M was lost after the vehicle went into an uncontrolled spin and burned up in the Earth's atmosphere several days later.

It also comes in the wake of the disintegration of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a SpaceX Dragon capsule to resupply the station just 139 seconds into flight on June 28.

In a NASA public affairs event yesterday, astronaut Scott Kelly was asked how the crew were feeling ahead of the launch of this latest Progress; "Third time's a charm I hope. We're hoping that we get this one obviously.. If these next two get delayed or move out beyond September or October it will cause problems but we're as confident as we can be."

Progress will spend several months docked to the International Space Station before it is loaded with waste, undocked and sent to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.

Today's launch will be followed in August by a Japanese HTV flight. Orbital ATK is moving ahead with plans for its next launch later this year.

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Failed Russian Progress Resupply Ship Burns Up In Atmosphere

The Russian Progress M-27M cargo spacecraft which failed to dock with the International Space Station last month has re-entered the Earth's atmosphere at 02:20 UTC over the Pacific Ocean.
Having launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 28 and loaded with over three tonnes of fuel, food and cargo for the orbiting complex, Russian Mission Control declared that they were experiencing propulsion, telemetry and communications issues with the spacecraft shortly after it separated from the Soyuz rocket.

File photo of a Progress Resupply Ship
credit: NASA TV

Video cameras installed on the vehicle showed that it had entered into an uncontrolled spin of roughly one rotation every four to five seconds. All attempts by Russian ground controllers to regain control of the vehicle were unsuccessful, and the decision was made to cancel the planned docking to the station on Wednesday April 29 when it ecame apparent that rendezvous and docking would not be possible.

The crew aboard the station in the meantime are doing well and have sufficient supplies on board to last for over four months. Expedition 43 Flight Engineer and ISS One Year Crew member Scott Kelly of NASA spoke with the Associated Press recently about the problems with the Progress,
"The important thing is that hardware can be replaced.. and we'll continue to operate the space station."

The next cargo ship on the manifest to visit the station will be a SpaceX Dragon resupply ship. This will be the company's seventh resupply mission to the station, scheduled to launch from Florida on June 19.

In the meantime, the Russian Federal Space Agency(Roscosmos) will be investigating the incident in order to find athe root cause of the anomaly. The Progress M-27M was the 150th Russian space freighter launched into space, and is only the second one to have suffered a casatrophic/major malfunction during its mission to resupply the ISS. In August 2011 a system error with the Soyuz rocket prevented the vehicle from reaching orbit.



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The Challenges of a One Year Mission to Space

On Friday March 27 2015, astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko launched atop a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, marking the beginning of a year-long mission to the International Space Station.

Kelly and Kornienko, known as the "One Year Crew" launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan along with cosmonaut Gennady Padalka at 19:42 GMT on Friday. The pair will live aboard the orbiting complex for one year, before returning to Earth in March 2016.

Padalka, Kelly and Kornienko prior to launch from Baikonur
credit: NASA

The one year mission will allow scientists to see how the human body will adapt to the microgravity conditions found aboard the ISS, as well as examining the psychological effects of living off the planet for one year.  The scientific community will also be carefully watching how Kelly and Kornienko re-adapt to life back on Earth after spending a year in low-Earth orbit.

Changes in vision are just one of the many side effects that have been observed in some astronauts returning from long-duration spaceflights, and researchers want to learn more about its root causes and develop countermeasures to minimize this risk.

The duo will also have to combat bone and muscle loss (which happens to every astronaut when they fly in space for several months) by exercising for 2.5 hours each day, using the station's treadmills, bike machine known as CEVIS(Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System) and a weights machine called ARED(Advanced Resistive Exercise Device). For a six month mission, astronauts can lose up to 15% muscle volume.

Just in case you were wondering, this will not be the first time human beings will be sent into orbit for a year-long mission. In 1994, cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov spent 437 days living aboard the Russian space station Mir, before returning to Earth in 1995. Despite suffering from a clear decline in morale for the first two months of his mission, Polyakov was able to regain his pre-flight mood for the rest of his stay aboard the station.

Upon returning to Earth in his Soyuz capsule after a successful mission, Polyakov decided he would rather walk the small distance from his spacecraft to a nearby reclining chair, demonstrating that humans would be able to walk on the surface of Mars after several weightless months in transit from Earth. This extra-long duration mission showed that the human body could deal with the strains and stresses of living in space for such an extended period of time. However, Kelly and Kornienko will be the first space farers to spend a year living on the International Space Station.

ESA astronaut and Expedition 26/27 Flight Engineer Paolo Nespoli, who spent six months living on the ISS in 2010 & 2011, told me that now is a good time to attempt a mission of this nature:

 "I feel we need to know more about what happens to the body and what happens to the mind when you stay in space for a long time, so I think that now is a good time and I think we should do it."

Nespoli went on to mention that the technology we have on the space station is far superior to what Polyakov had at his disposal on Mir, and how it will be easier to connect with family, friends and Mission Control teams all over the world.

Kelly in the station's Cupola during Expedition 26
credit: NASA

"There was a Russian cosmonaut(Polyakov) who stayed in space for well over a year, so the Russians have done this in a more restricted and confined environment than what is today space station, where we have internet, telephone, teleconference capabilities so we can talk to Mission Control whenever we want".

I also asked Doug Wheelock about his thoughts on the upcoming mission, and what challenges would be faced by the one year crew. He went on to say that the biggest obstacles would be dealing with the mental stresses of living off the planet for such a long time:

"I think the greatest challenge will be managing the physiology & psychology of isolation, emotion, & senses... it is critical to stay in the moment".

Finally, I recently spoke with Expedition 35/36 Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy, who returned from the International Space Station back in September 2013, about his thoughts on the one year mission:

"In my experience on coming home day, as we were closing the hatch I thought to myself "What would I think if I was halfway done right now? How would I feel? What would I need? To be honest I felt a little accumulative fatigue- when you're living at your workplace, and you can't shut the door to work and go home in the evening and kick back and watch Monday Night Football- you're there all the time and it eventually catches up to you".

Cassidy, who completed a total of three spacewalks, or EVAs, during his most recent flight, also had a few ideas regarding how the crew doesn't become fatigued with the heavy workload that comes with living aboard the orbiting outpost, suggesting a longer weekend from time to time in the second half of the mission:

"I think my recommendation would be in months 7 through 12, the second half of the year is to have a three day weekend every month because you really need a good recharge. Sunday is a really good day to have a recharge, and to have an extra Sunday thrown in the mix every now and then would go a long way".

The International Space Station
credit: NASA

All in all, it appears that everyone in science and space exploration fields are confident about the one year mission. Both Kelly and Kornienko have lived aboard the ISS before, so it's fair to say that we have a very experienced crew on our hands, logging over 360 days in space between them. In addition, their Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka will become the first four-time commander of the space station, and upon returning to Earth at the end of Expedition 44 will have logged a total of nearly 900 days in space - the longest time spent in space by any human being.

It is hoped that data recorded from this mission will assist teams on the ground in their understanding of the effects of long terms weightlessness on the body, and what it may be like for humans if they were sent on a mission to Mars in the future. After Kelly and Kornienko return to Earth in 2016, we will no doubt, be one small step closer to the human exploration of the Red Planet.

Godspeed Scott and Misha!

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The Challenges of a One-Year Mission to Space

On Friday March 27 2015, astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko launched atop a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, marking the beginning of a year-long mission to the International Space Station.

Kelly and Kornienko, known as the "One Year Crew" launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan along with cosmonaut Gennady Padalka at 19:42 GMT on Friday. The pair will live aboard the orbiting complex for one year, before returning to Earth in March 2016.

Padalka, Kelly and Kornienko prior to launch from Baikonur
credit: NASA

The one year mission will allow scientists to see how the human body will adapt to the microgravity living and working conditions found aboard the ISS, as well as examining the psychological effects of living off the planet for one year.  The scientific community will also be carefully watching how Kelly and Kornienko re-adapt to life back on Earth after spending a year in low-Earth orbit.

Changes in vision are just one of the many side effects that have been observed in some astronauts returning from long-duration spaceflights, and researchers want to learn more about its root causes and develop countermeasures to minimize this risk.

The duo will also have to combat bone and muscle loss (which happens to every astronaut when they fly in space for several months) by exercising for 2.5 hours each day, using the station's treadmills, bike machine known as CEVIS(Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System) and a weights machine called ARED(Advanced Resistive Exercise Device). For a six month mission, astronauts can lose up to 15% muscle volume.

Just in case you were wondering, this will not be the first time human beings will be sent into orbit for a year-long mission. In 1994, cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov spent over 437 days living aboard the Russian space station Mir, before returning to Earth in 1995. Despite suffering from a clear decline in morale for the first two months of his mission, Polyakov was able to regain his pre-flight mood for the rest of his stay aboard the station.

Upon returning to Earth in his Soyuz capsule after a successful mission, Polyakov decided he would rather walk the small distance from his spacecraft to a nearby reclining chair, demonstrating that humans would be able to walk on the surface of Mars after several weightless months in transit from Earth. This extra-long duration mission showed that the human body could deal with the strains and stresses of living in space for such an extended period of time. However, Kelly and Kornienko will be the first space farers to spend a year living on the International Space Station.

Recently I began asking astronauts who have spent time living and working aboard the ISS about the one year mission, and what they thought the biggest challenges will be for Kelly and Kornienko.

ESA astronaut and Expedition 26/27 Flight Engineer Paolo Nespoli, who spent six months living on the ISS in 2010 & 2011, told me that now is a good time to an attempt a mission of this nature:

 "I feel we need to know more about what happens to the body and what happens to the mind when you stay in space for a long time, so I think that now is a good time and I think we should do it."

Nespoli went on to mention that the technology we have on the space station is far superior to what Polyakov had at his disposal on Mir, and how it will be easier to connect with family friends and Mission Control teams all over the world.

Kelly in the station's Cupola during Expedition 26
credit: NASA

"There was a Russian cosmonaut(Polyakov) who stayed in space for well over a year, so the Russians have done this in a more restricted and confined environment than what is today space station, where we have internet, telephone, teleconference capabilities so we can talk to Mission Control whenever we want".

I also asked Doug Wheelock, who, like Nespoli, lived aboard the ISS alongside Scott Kelly, about his thoughts on the upcoming mission, and what challenges would be faced by the one year crew. He went on to say that the biggest obstacles would be dealing with the mental stresses of living off the planet for such a long time:

"I think the greatest challenge will be managing the physiology & psychology of isolation, emotion, & senses... it is critical to stay in the moment".

Finally, I recently spoke with Expedition 35/36 Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy, who returned from the International Space Station back in September 2013, about his thoughts on the one year mission:

"In my experience on coming home day, as we were closing the hatch I thought to myself "What would I think if I was halfway done right now? How would I feel? What would I need? To be honest I felt a little accumulative fatigue- when you're living at your workplace, and you can't shut the door to work and go home in the evening and kick back and watch Monday Night Football- you're there all the time and it eventually catches up to you".

Cassidy, who completed a total of three spacewalks, or EVAs, during his most recent flight, also had a few ideas regarding how the crew doesn't become fatigued with the heavy workload that comes with living aboard the orbiting outpost, suggesting a longer weekend from time to time in the second half of the mission:

"I think my recommendation would be in months 7 through 12, the second half of the year is to have a three day weekend every month because you really need a good recharge. Sunday is a really good day to have a recharge, and to have an extra Sunday thrown in the mix every now and then would go a long way".

The International Space Station
credit: NASA

All in all, it appears that everyone in science and space exploration fields are confident about the one year mission. Both Kelly and Kornienko have lived aboard the ISS before, so it's fair to say that we have a very experienced crew on our hands, logging a total of 356 days in space between them. In addition, their Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka will become the first four-time commander of the space station, and upon returning to Earth at the end of Expedition 44 will have logged a total of nearly 900 days in space.

It is hoped that data recorded from this mission will assist teams on the ground in their understanding of the effects of long terms weightlessness on the body, and what it may be like for humans if they were sent on a mission to Mars in the future. After Kelly and Kornienko return to Earth in 2016, we will no doubt, be one small step closer to the human exploration of the Red Planet.

Godspeed Scott and Misha!


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Soyuz TMA-10M Arrives at the International Space Station

The Soyuz TMA-10M spacecraft has arrived at the International Space Station.

The Soyuz spacecraft, carrying cosmonauts Oleg Kotov, Sergey Ryazanskiy and NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, successfully docked to the space station's Poisk Module at 3:45 a.m. IST.

This comes after the trio launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan just six hours earlier at 9:58 p.m. After completing just four orbits of the Earth, the Soyuz performed a series of rendezvous maneuvers and orbital burns to set up for a docking to the station this morning.

This is only the third time a Soyuz has used this six hour launch to docking, instead of the traditional two day journey.

It wasn't long before the hatches between the Soyuz and the orbiting laboratory were opened at 5:34 a.m. The newly launched trio were welcomed aboard the ISS by station commander Fyodor Yurchikin, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano and NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, who themselves have been living aboard station since May.

The station has now been restored to its full six person capacity, with the entire Expedition 37 crew now aboard the orbiting complex. The six astronauts and cosmonauts will continue the science which is currently being investigated 250 miles above our heads in Low-Earth Orbit.

The arrival of the Soyuz TMA-10M comes less than a week ahead of the arrival of the Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft, which is making its maiden voyage to the International Space Station, and is scheduled to dock this weekend.

Expedition 37 will come to an end in November, when it will be time for Yurchikin, Parmitano and Nyberg to return to Earth. But for now, it's full steam ahead for spaceship ISS, orbiting the planet at over 17,500mph.

Same Day Delivery: Expedition 35 Crew Arrives at ISS in Less Than Six Hours

The Soyuz TMA-08M crew has arrived at the International Space Station after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Soyuz TMA-08M launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 8:43 p.m. GMT
Credit: NASA

The trio, made up of cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov, Aleksandr Misurkin and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, launched aboard their Soyuz spacecraft from the same launch pad used by Yuri Gagarin in 1961, lifting into the Kazakhstan sky at 8:43 p.m GMT.

However, what makes this Soyuz mission to the ISS special is that is is the first time a crew launching to the station used the six-hour rendezvous flight profile, previously tested on the last two Progress resupply missions to the orbiting laboratory.

Launch, rendezvous and docking to the space station in all previous Soyuz flights took two days to do so if all went according to plan. Today, the new trio arrived at their home for the next six moths in less time than it takes to fly a plane from London to New York!

The trio docked to the station's Poisk module at 2:28 a.m. GMT over the Pacific Ocean, a little under six hours after launching from Baikonur.

All six Expedition 35 crew members aboard the ISS
Credit: NASA

The hatches between the Soyuz and the station's Poisk Module were opened at 4.35 a.m. GMT, when the crew was welcomed aboard by Station commander Chris Hadfield, Tom Marshburn and Roman Romanenko, restoring the station to its full complement of six crew members.


Speaking in a NASA social media event recently, Expedition 32/33 Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide of JAXA said "It's really cool... It's kind of interesting to see the transition from a two day rendezvous to just six hours". Hoshide who flew to the station after two days catching up in his Soyuz, marvels at the speed at which crews can now fly to the ISS- "You launch in the morning and then that afternoon you're already on the station".

Vinogradov, Misurkin and Cassidy are scheduled to return to Earth in September.

New Trio Launches to Space Station

At 11:51 GMT, a Soyuz rocket carrying three astronauts lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, bound for the International Space Station.

The reliable Soyuz FG rocket safely launched from the Russian leased cosmodrome in near perfect conditions. After nine minutes of powered flight, the crew reached an altitude of 250 miles sbove Earth. The spacecraft will continue to chase down its target- the International Space Station, which is expected to take 34 orbits, or just over two days.

The Soyuz TMA-06M crew consists of cosmonaut commander Oleg Novitskiy, Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin, and NASA astronaut Kevin Ford. Both Novitskiy and Tarelkin are rookie space farers, and have never flown in space, whereas NASA's Kevin Ford flew on the Space Shuttle as it's pilot on STS-128 in 2009.

This will be the second time Ford will spend time aboard the space station, having visited during his assembly mission three years ago. However, rather than being up there for only 8 days, Ford and his crew mates will spend nearly six months aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting experiments in microgravity, as well as some earth observation.

When they arrive, they will be greeted by NASA astronaut and current space station commander; Sunita Williams, who is currently aboard station alongside veteran cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide.

When asked what is he most looking forward to doing when he arrives on the space station, he replied; "It's going to be great!"
"I'm looking forward to some Sunday afternoons seeing the whole planet, and doing some things I didn't get to do before"

Ford and his crew will return to Earth in their Soyuz capsule in March 2013.