Posts: 52239 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 05-29-2023 11:22 AM
This thread is intended for comments and questions about the Soyuz MS-25 mission to the International Space Station.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 52239 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 05-29-2023 11:28 AM
Roscosmos has named the Soyuz MS-25 crew:
Oleg Novitsky, Roscosmos
representative of the Republic of Belarus
Tracy Caldwell Dyson, NASA
After a short-stay at the space station, Novitsky and the Belarusian will return to Earth with NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara aboard Soyuz MS-24. Dyson will land after a six month stay in September 2024 on Soyuz MS-25 with yearlong crewmates Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub.
Tonyq Member
Posts: 220 From: UK Registered: Jul 2004
posted 05-30-2023 12:20 PM
The prime candidate from Belarus appears to be Marina Vasileyeva, 32, a former flight attendant.
Her name briefly appeared on the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre website, on 29th May, but was then removed.
Some Belarussian websites have reported her assignment, recycling old photos and information. However, the Belarussian Academy of Sciences, which is co-ordinating the flight, has made no official comment.
Vasilevskaya's back-up will be Anastasia Lenkova, 28, a paediatric surgeon.
dom Member
Posts: 1075 From: Registered: Aug 2001
posted 05-30-2023 01:16 PM
I wish them well, they’ll certainly have a captive audience back home…
Tonyq Member
Posts: 220 From: UK Registered: Jul 2004
posted 07-25-2023 03:37 AM
The two Belarusian female candidates arrived at GCTC yesterday to start eight months of training for the Soyuz MS-25 flight.
One of them, Anastasia Lenkova, has stared a training diary on the Telegram channel.
SPACEFACTS Member
Posts: 398 From: Germany Registered: Aug 2006
posted 07-25-2023 07:03 AM
The portraits are published on the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center website. Marina Vasilevskaya is wearing the blue jacket.
MSS Member
Posts: 1053 From: Europe Registered: May 2003
posted 07-25-2023 04:44 PM
There is an interesting photo with their commanders: prime Oleg Novitsky and back-up Ivan Vagner.
Tonyq Member
Posts: 220 From: UK Registered: Jul 2004
posted 09-03-2023 03:04 AM
The Belarus cosmonaut candidates have been back to Minsk to visit the Belarus Olympic Committee, which is presided over by Lukashenko's eldest son
They were given a flag to take to the ISS.
Bearing in mind that Russia and Belarus are currently banned from most international sport, this action probably reflects the way in which propaganda is likely to be an important aspect of the visiting mission.
dom Member
Posts: 1075 From: Registered: Aug 2001
posted 09-03-2023 05:38 AM
Tony, this mission is 100% propaganda and should just be ignored by us. It is fake feminism. Every time I see these cosmonaut candidates I’m just reminded of the brave women politicians (one of whom actually won the last election before she was forced into exile) who have been threatened and imprisoned by the regime. Those are women who are far braver than these political puppets…
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 52239 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 09-03-2023 08:45 AM
With respect, unless you know more about Marina Vasileyeva and Anastasia Lenkova then what has been reported in the news, then I think you are being extremely unfair to them.
Further, even if they are loyal to their government and its policies, the sight of a Belarusian woman on the International Space Station may serve as inspiration to others within the country to embrace a different future.
dom Member
Posts: 1075 From: Registered: Aug 2001
posted 09-03-2023 01:17 PM
Am I the only one who now feels they are living in a Philip K. Dick dystopian world where something should be supported because it has a "space" angle. These two cosmonauts are letting themselves be used by a particularly odious dictatorship and shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the ISS.
If their home country can be banned from international sporting events for letting its territory be used for an attack on Ukraine that has probably resulted in the deaths of 200,000 soldiers and civilians on both sides in the last 18 months, why shouldn't we boycott coverage of what is obviously a cynical media stunt?
issman1 Member
Posts: 1121 From: UK Registered: Apr 2005
posted 09-03-2023 01:50 PM
Unlike you, I'm looking forward to the flight of a Belarus cosmonaut.
I really don't care about the politics. For all mankind, right?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 52239 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 09-03-2023 01:54 PM
quote:Originally posted by dom: ...supported because it has a "space" angle.
Following the events of a spaceflight is not the same as supporting it. Few if any people in the U.S. supported the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik, but many people have memories — even fond memories — of going out to see it fly overhead.
One can simultaneously be critical of the policies of a nation while also recognizing their achievements in spaceflight. China's human rights record is why the U.S. cannot partner with its space program, but many celebrated China's success landing rovers on the moon and Mars.
Ignoring the flight of a Belarusian woman to the International Space Station isn't going to change the country's government or laws. The more the citizens of Belarus can see how the rest of the world cooperates in space, though, has a chance, however small, of inspiring change in the future.
SkyMan1958 Member
Posts: 1366 From: CA. Registered: Jan 2011
posted 09-03-2023 06:56 PM
Of course the flight is propaganda, all flights are propaganda to a certain extent. I personally have no problem with Russia wasting their equivalent of a quarter billion dollars (obviously much less in reality, but still...) that could have been used to build more weapons to kill more Ukrainians.
Last I checked, within the last year a couple of Saudi Arabians flew to the ISS, including the first Arab woman to fly in space. For many years Saudi Arabia (SA) has had just as brutal a war (perhaps more so) with its neighbor Yemen, as Russia has had with the Ukraine. While SA is not claiming any Yemeni territory, it certainly is trying to have its own puppet regime in power in Yemen. Needless to say, SA is also known for having abysmal human rights at home. Did anyone now complaining about the Belorussians going to the ISS complain about the Saudis using the ISS earlier this year? If not, they might check their moral outrage quotient.
Given how the ISS was politically designed, I don't have a problem with different "founding" members using the ISS for reasonably acceptable purposes. In my opinion having the Saudis fly to the ISS helped the commercial space business model (and possibly US/Saudi relations). Further, hopefully, it might help the power balance in SA between technocrats with a worldly outlook, in their struggle with religious conservatives.
While I don't think anything will come of the Belorussians flying to the ISS except propaganda, it still is preferable for me that the Russians spend their money on this, rather than feeding their war machine.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 52239 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 09-15-2023 10:06 AM
NASA release NASA release
NASA Astronaut Tracy C. Dyson Receives Second Space Station Assignment
NASA has assigned astronaut Tracy C. Dyson to her second long-duration mission to the International Space Station as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 70/71 crew.
Dyson will launch on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft in March 2024 and spend approximately six months aboard the International Space Station. She will travel to the station with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus, both of whom will spend approximately 12 days aboard the orbital complex.
During her expedition, Dyson will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations that help prepare humans for future space missions and benefit people on Earth. Among some of the hundreds of experiments ongoing during her mission, Dyson will continue to study how fire spreads and behaves in space with the Combustion Integrated Rack, as well as contribute to the long-running Crew Earth Observations study by photographing Earth to better understand how our planet is changing over time.
After completing her expedition, Dyson will return to Earth in fall 2024 with Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft. Kononenko and Chub are slated to launch Friday, Sept. 15, with NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara on the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft. Kononenko and Chub will remain aboard the orbital laboratory for about one year. O'Hara, who will spend six months aboard the space station, will return with Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya on the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft.
NASA selected Dyson as an astronaut in June 1998, and during her previous two flights, logged more than 188 days in space. Dyson first launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavor on STS-118 in 2007, serving as a mission specialist. During the mission, the crew successfully added the starboard-5 truss segment to the station's "backbone" and a new gyroscope. In 2010, she served as flight engineer for Expedition 23/24 and performed three successful contingency spacewalks, logging 22 hours and 49 minutes outside the station as she helped remove and replace a failed pump module for one of two external ammonia circulation loops that keep internal and external equipment cool.
Dyson has worked inside the Mission Control Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston as spacecraft communicator, known as capcom, for both space shuttle and space station operations. She also served as the lead capcom for various space station missions, as well as the development of the capcom cadre for Boeing's Starliner Mission Operations Team. Other technical assignments included leading the development of the spacewalk qualification training flow, which she helped to complete for the 2017 class of NASA astronauts.
Born in Arcadia, California, Dyson received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from California State University, Fullerton, in 1993, and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of California, Davis, in 1997.
Tonyq Member
Posts: 220 From: UK Registered: Jul 2004
posted 12-14-2023 05:44 PM
There are reports on Russian forums, not yet officially confirmed, that the launch date for Soyuz MS-25 has been moved from 13th to 21st March 2024.
It is speculated that this is connected to the Russian presidential elections which are due to take place from 15th to 17th March.
Tonyq Member
Posts: 220 From: UK Registered: Jul 2004
posted 01-29-2024 02:32 PM
With the launch of Soyuz MS-25 now only seven weeks away, I've tried to pull together all the known information about the Belarusian involvement.
Whilst acknowledging the significant element of propaganda and political points scoring that sit behind this project, on balance, it is worthwhile to try and record.
Tonyq Member
Posts: 220 From: UK Registered: Jul 2004
posted 02-15-2024 03:24 AM
Why are Belarus and Russia sending a flight attendant to the ISS?
Posts: 52239 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-15-2024 08:26 AM
I asked Tracy Dyson to share her impressions of Vasileyeva. Here is what she said in our interview:
This is the first time that a professional astronaut has been in the right seat with a non-professional on the left.
If you know anything about Soyuz, you know that the commander is in the center, the pilot is on the left side and usually the space tourist is on the right. But because of — well, for reasons I'm not exactly sure — we had to keep this complement, perhaps because there wasn't much time to train me on the left seat. So what that means is there's a lot of credit due to Marina for the job that she has to do.
I don't know that she's trained as a full fledged left seater, but her work ethic is really noteworthy. She's a flight attendant. That's her day job and, as you know, flight attendants don't just serve drinks. They're primarily responsible for our personal safety on board the aircraft and so she's no stranger to emergency situations and what to do and how to stay calm during them. She's demonstrated that in our sims and our training together, especially those that involve putting masks on our heads and changing from one suit to another, so she really been a delight to work with.
She's really stepped up to whatever role she's been assigned and what she lacks in experience as a cosmonaut she makes up for with a great attitude.
Tonyq Member
Posts: 220 From: UK Registered: Jul 2004
posted 02-16-2024 02:42 AM
Thanks Robert, for sharing Tracy's interesting comments.
It is a little surprising that (at the time of your conversation) Tracy appeared not to be aware that Soyuz MS-25 will fly in 'commander only' mode, like MS-19 and MS-20 in 2021. This is a different mode to when she was back-up FE2 on MS-24, last year.
Also, that she wasn't sure if Vasilevskaya is a fully fledged FE - she's not.
You would have thought, that these are pretty fundamental issues, on which they should all have a clear understanding of before they began training as a crew.
I guess that Tracy's comments contain an element of being diplomatic, positive, and not wanting to say anything that could be inappropriate or controversial.
Of course, none of this explains why Vasilevskaya was in the selection process, in the first place, and why she has been preferred to a highly qualified and regarded doctor.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 52239 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-20-2024 11:04 PM
NASA video
NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus are set to lift off at 9:21 a.m. EDT (1321 UTC) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard their Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 52239 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-21-2024 08:26 AM
Abort! The Soyuz MS-25 launch was aborted with just seconds to go in the countdown.
It is not yet known what triggered the abort command at about the T-20 second mark. The crew is safe, still aboard the Soyuz.
Depending on the reason, the soonest another launch attempt could be made would be on Saturday (March 23).
brianjbradley Member
Posts: 172 From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Registered: Dec 2010
posted 03-21-2024 08:37 AM
How unusual to have an abort of a Soyuz launch. When was the last time?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 52239 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-21-2024 08:48 AM
It is a rare occurrence. A recent, if not the most recent example, occurred in 2018 when the launch of Progress MS-08 was halted in the final seconds of the countdown.
The issue (which also occurred on Progress MS-07 in 2017) was traced back to a problem synchronizing the ground and flight computers. A faulty component was replaced and the launch proceeded two days later.
SpaceAngel Member
Posts: 466 From: Maryland Registered: May 2010
posted 03-21-2024 09:05 AM
Has an abort with a Russian spacecraft ever occurred with crew inside?
issman1 Member
Posts: 1121 From: UK Registered: Apr 2005
posted 03-21-2024 11:55 AM
I believe this was the first time a manned Soyuz launch scrubbed on the pad. But what alarmed me more was the launch abort system being manually deactivated by the Commander with the crew still sitting on top of all those volatile propellants.
Is that also standard procedure for Crew Dragon and Shenzhou?
MSS Member
Posts: 1053 From: Europe Registered: May 2003
posted 03-21-2024 02:51 PM
quote:Originally posted by SpaceAngel: Has an abort with a Russian spacecraft ever occurred with crew inside?
There was only one case with a crew on board (Vladimir Shatalov) on Soyuz 4. The launch was delayed by one day in 1969!
David C Member
Posts: 1435 From: Lausanne Registered: Apr 2012
posted 03-21-2024 07:28 PM
quote:Originally posted by MSS: There was only one case with a crew on board (Vladimir Shatalov) on Soyuz 4.
What about the April 5, 1975 "Soyuz Anomaly," the Sept. 26, 1983 Soyuz T-10 pad abort and the Oct. 11, 2018 MS-10 abort after lift-off?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 52239 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-21-2024 08:15 PM
Though all aborts, I would group them in a different category than what happened today: a halt to the countdown.
quote:Originally posted by issman1: Is that also standard procedure for Crew Dragon and Shenzhou?
I do not not know the order of events for Shenzhou, but for a scrub prior to the launch of a Crew Dragon (such as what occurred on Crew-6), the Falcon 9 is drained of its propellants before the launch escape system is disabled and the crew access arm is moved into place for the astronauts to exit the vehicle and descend the fixed service structure.
dom Member
Posts: 1075 From: Registered: Aug 2001
posted 03-21-2024 10:59 PM
Although a remote possibility, but considering the political nature of this flight (in many ways it’s linked to the war in Ukraine), was the countdown “hacked” in some way to embarrass Russia and Belarus? Whatever happened, it certainly ruined the television viewing of Lukashenko and Putin yesterday…
onesmallstep Member
Posts: 1454 From: Staten Island, New York USA Registered: Nov 2007
posted 03-22-2024 08:27 AM
Doubt very much a launch (Russian or US, for that matter) can be 'hacked.' Too many safeguards are in place (both technical, military etc.) to prevent that. It would have already happened, if someone (ex-employee, terrorist etc.) had the knowledge.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 52239 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-23-2024 06:54 AM
NASA video
Soyuz MS-25 is set to lift off at 8:36 a.m. EDT (1236 UTC) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
After two days in orbit, the Soyuz will arrive at the International Space Station's Prichal module for a scheduled docking at 11:09 a.m. EDT (1509 UTC) Monday, March 25.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 52239 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-25-2024 09:47 AM
Roscosmos video
Live coverage of the docking of Soyuz MS-25 to the International Space Station. The Soyuz is scheduled to dock at approximately 11:09 a.m. EDT (1509 GMT).
MSS Member
Posts: 1053 From: Europe Registered: May 2003
posted 03-25-2024 01:31 PM
quote:Originally posted by MSS: There was only one case with a crew on board (Vladimir Shatalov) on Soyuz 4.
I did some more research and it turns out that there is another case of a one-day delay in the launch of Soyuz-10 (crew: Shatalov, Yeliseyev and Rukavishnikov) in 1971.
brianjbradley Member
Posts: 172 From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Registered: Dec 2010
posted 04-19-2024 09:31 AM
Anyone find it odd that there were so few photos of Oleg Novitsky and Marina Vasilevskaya released during the actual flight?
I think I saw two, in addition to the arrival and departure videos. I suppose this has applied to the private flights (Axiom) as well - limited photography, but there's certainly more.
posted 05-29-2023 11:22 AM
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