Note: Only forum leaders may delete posts.
*HTML is ON *UBB Code is ON Smilies Legend
Smilies Legend
[b]Soyuz TMA-21, "Gagarin," launches to orbit[/b] [i]Space station crew launches from birthplace of human spaceflight[/i] Lifting off from the same launch pad where just shy of 50 years ago the first human in space departed Earth for orbit, Russia's Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft took flight at 5:18 p.m. CDT Monday (4:18 a.m. Tuesday, local time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Onboard, commander Alexander Samokutyaev and flight engineers Ron Garan and Andrey Borisenko began their trip to the International Space Station, where in two days time they will join the Expedition 27 crew. Credit: NASA Television "Launch was great, and we are in orbit and we are doing great," said Samokutyaev after the launch. "This is a great anniversary flight, and have a great one," Mission Control in Moscow radioed back. The Soyuz, which has been dubbed "Gagarin," is launching one week shy of the 50th anniversary of the launch of Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961 to become the first human to fly in space. The first stage of the Soyuz booster was emblazoned with the name "Gagarin" and the likeness of the first person to fly in space. The crew is scheduled to dock Soyuz TMA-21 to the station's Poisk module at 6:18 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6. The crew members will join ISS Expedition 27 commander Dmitry Kondratyev and engineers Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli, who have been on the orbiting lab since December 2010. Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi [b]Above:[/b] [i]Expedition 27 crew members from top, Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Borisenko, NASA flight engineer Ron Garan, and Soyuz commander Alexander Samokutyaev wave farewell from the bottom of the Soyuz rocket prior to their launch on Tuesday, April 5, 2011.[/i] During Expedition 27, the six-person crew will continue scientific research, perform station maintenance and welcome two visiting vehicles. In addition to space shuttle Endeavour's planned visit during the STS-134 mission, the Expedition 27 crew is expecting the arrival of the 42nd Russian Progress cargo ship near the end of April. Kondratyev, Coleman and Nespoli are scheduled to depart the station May 16. NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa are scheduled to join Garan, Borisenko and Samokutyaev aboard the station to complete the Expedition 28 crew. Their launch is currently set for May 30, but may slip into June.
Contact Us | The Source for Space History & Artifacts
Copyright 1999-2024 collectSPACE. All rights reserved.