posted 10-21-2012 12:20 PM               

Soyuz TMA-06M mission to the space station

On Oct. 23, 2012, Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin, together with NASA astronaut Kevin Ford will depart for the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Russia's Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The three Soyuz crew members will arrive at the station on Oct. 25 to join ISS Expedition 33 commander Sunita Williams, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Aki Hoshide and Roscosmos cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, who have been aboard the orbiting laboratory since mid-July.

Key pre-launch and flight events

• Sunday, Oct. 21
  Soyuz roll out to launch pad in Baikonur, Kazakhstan

• Tuesday, Oct. 23, 5:51 a.m. EDT (0951 GMT)
  Expedition 33/34 Soyuz TMA-06M launch

• Thursday, Oct. 25, 7:35 a.m. EDT (1135 GMT)
  Expedition 33/34 Soyuz TMA-06M docking

• Thursday, Oct. 25, 10:15 a.m. EDT (1415 GMT)
  Expedition 33/34 Soyuz TMA-06M hatch opening and welcoming ceremony

posted 10-21-2012 12:22 PM               

Soyuz TMA-06M rolled out to launch pad

The Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft was rolled out by train and erected on its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012.

This is the first manned launch in 28 years from Pad 6 at Site 31, also referred to as the "Tereshkova" pad. The launch pad is being used as Site 1, "Gagarin's Start," undergoes maintenance and upgrades.

posted 10-23-2012 07:47 AM               

New start: Space station crew lifts off from revived Russian launch pad

One astronaut, two cosmonauts and 32 live fish left Earth for the International Space Station (ISS) Tuesday morning (Oct. 23), lifting off from a Russian launch pad that has not been used for manned missions for almost three decades.

Russia's Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft, riding atop a Soyuz FG booster, blasted off from launch pad 6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome's Site 31 in Kazakhstan at 6:51 a.m. EDT (1051 GMT). Flying under the call sign "Kazbek," Soyuz TMA-06M commander Oleg Novitskiy soared space-ward with Roscosmos cosmonaut Evgeny Tarelkin and NASA astronaut Kevin Ford.

posted 10-25-2012 08:20 AM               

Soyuz TMA-06M docks with the space station

Oleg Novitskiy, Evgeny Tarelkin and Kevin Ford docked their Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft at the International Space Station's (ISS) Poisk mini-research module on Thursday (Oct. 25) at 7:29 a.m. CDT (1229 GMT) while flying over the southern Ukraine 260 miles below.

After the hatches between the Soyuz and space station are opened, Expedition 33 commander Sunita Williams and flight engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Akihiko Hoshide will welcome the three new flight engineers aboard for their five-month stay on the complex.

posted 03-14-2013 04:33 PM               

Soyuz TMA-06M landing delayed by weather

Due to frigid weather conditions described as "horrible" at the landing zone northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, Roscosmos, Russia's federal space agency, decided to postpone the departure and return to Earth of Soyuz TMA-06M from the International Space Station.

The landing had been planned for Thursday (March 14) at 10:56 p.m. CDT (0356 GMT Friday). Expedition 34 crewmates Oleg Novitskiy, Evgeny Tarelkin and Kevin Ford will now leave the orbiting complex on Friday (March 15).

Russian meteorologists are continuing to monitor the weather across the Kazakh steppe.

Soyuz TMA-06M is now scheduled to undock from the station at 6:43 p.m. CDT (2343 GMT) on Friday, heading for a landing at 10:06 p.m. CDT (0306 GMT).

This is not the first time that poor weather has postponed a Soyuz returning to Earth. In April 2009, Soyuz TMA-13 was delayed due to snow and soggy conditions on the Kazakh steppe.

posted 03-16-2013 12:14 AM               

Soyuz TMA-06M lands from space station with US-Russian crew

An astronaut and two cosmonauts are now back on Earth, having spent the last five months off the planet performing science and maintenance aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA astronaut Kevin Ford, together with Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin of the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos, touched down Friday (March 15) on the frigid, cloud- and fog-cloaked steppe of Kazakhstan, northeast of the remote town of Arkalyk.

Descending under parachute aboard Russia's Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft, the crew safely landed around 11:08 p.m. EDT (0308 GMT) or about an hour and a half after sunrise on Saturday (March 16) at the central Asia landing site.