posted 03-08-2013 04:53 PM               

Next space station-bound crew flying fast track to orbiting outpost

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy is on the fast track to the International Space Station (ISS).

Not only is he and his two cosmonaut crewmates the next in line to fly to the orbiting laboratory, but they will be the first of the space station's residents to arrive on board the ISS on the same day that they launched. Up until to now, the same trip has taken two days.

Set to lift off on Russia's Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft on March 28 at 4:43 p.m. EDT (2043 GMT) — it will be early March 29 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Russia's launch site in Kazakhstan — Cassidy, together with Roscosmos cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Aleksandr Misurkin will reach the station in less time than a typical transatlantic flight.

See here to discuss the Soyuz TMA-08M mission to the space station.

posted 03-26-2013 08:21 AM               

Soyuz TMA-08M rolled out to launch pad

A Soyuz-FG rocket topped with Soyuz TMA-08M was erected into position Tuesday (March 26), after being rolled out to the launch pad by train at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Launch of Soyuz TMA-08M is scheduled for March 29 (March 28 CDT) and will send Pavel Vinogradov, Chris Cassidy and Alexander Misurkin on a five and a half-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

posted 03-28-2013 04:24 PM               

Cosmonauts, astronaut launch on express Soyuz flight to space station

Two Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut embarked for the International Space Station on Thursday (March 28), taking the 'express lane' to the ISS for the first time in history.

Veteran Russian commander Pavel Vinogradov, first-time cosmonaut Aleksandr Misurkin, and former Navy SEAL-turned-NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy launched on Russia's Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan at 4:43 p.m. EDT (2043 GMT; 2:43 a.m. March 29, Baikonur time) atop a Russian Soyuz FG booster.

Following a computer-orchestrated, expedited timeline of thruster firings, the trio is scheduled to rendezvous and dock at the space station in just six hours, bypassing the usual two days it took prior crews to arrive at the orbiting outpost. They are the first crew to fly this fast track to the International Space Station, though earlier U.S. and Soviet missions followed short-duration trajectories to their orbital targets.

posted 03-28-2013 09:52 PM               

Soyuz docks at space station following first rapid rendezvous

Three crew members arrived on board the International Space Station on the same day that they launched, setting a new speed record for the time between lifting off and docking at the orbiting laboratory.

Veteran Russian commander Pavel Vinogradov, first-time cosmonaut Aleksandr Misurkin and former Navy SEAL-turned-astronaut Chris Cassidy flew their Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft to a link up with the outpost's Poisk docking module at 10:28 p.m. EDT on Thursday (March 28; 0228 GMT Friday). The trio's arrival came just five hours and 45 minutes after they departed the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:43 p.m. EDT (2043 GMT; 2:43 a.m. local time March 29).

posted 09-10-2013 10:23 PM               

Soyuz TMA-08M crew lands on Earth after 166 days on space station

Three crewmembers returned from the International Space Station Tuesday night (Sept. 10), landing their space capsule on the steppe of Kazakhstan after spending five and a half months off the planet.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin and NASA's Christopher Cassidy touched down at 9:58 p.m. CDT (0258 GMT; 8:58 a.m. local time Sept. 11) on board the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-08M.

The trio's homecoming came three and a half hours after they undocked their Soyuz from the space station's Poisk module at 6:35 p.m. CDT (2335 GMT). Their departure for Earth marked the official end of the 36th expedition aboard the orbiting outpost.

See here to discuss the Soyuz TMA-08M mission to the space station.