posted 09-08-2024 11:37 AM               

Soyuz MS-26 crew, rocket poised for launch

Soyuz MS-26 commander Aleksey Ovchinin and flight engineer Ivan Vagner, both of Roscosmos, together with NASA astronaut Don Pettit are set to launch to the International Space Station on Wednesday (Sept. 11) at 12:23 p.m. EDT (1623 GMT or 9:23 p.m. local time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Soyuz is scheduled to dock to the station's Rassvet mini-research module at about 3:33 p.m. EDT (1933 GMT) the same day, after a two-orbit rendezvous.

About two hours after docking, the hatches between the Soyuz and the space station will open and Ovchinin, Vagner and Pettit will be greeted by Expedition 71 commander Oleg Kononenko and cosmonauts Nikolai Chub and Alexander Grebenkin of Roscosmos and NASA astronauts Tracy Dyson, Matt Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

On Sunday (Sept. 8), the Soyuz-2.1a rocket topped with the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft was rolled out to Pad 31/6 by train and erected into position.

posted 09-11-2024 12:05 PM               

NASA's oldest active astronaut launches on 'next mission' on Soyuz MS-26

NASA's oldest active astronaut and two veteran Russian cosmonauts have left Earth for a six-month stay on board the International Space Station (ISS).

Don Pettit, who turned 69 in April, lifted off with Aleksey Ovchinin, 52, and Ivan Vagner, 39, on board Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on Wednesday (Sept. 11). Riding atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the three crewmates launched at 12:23 p.m. EDT (1623 GMT or 9:23 p.m. local time).

posted 09-11-2024 02:40 PM               

Soyuz MS-26 docks at space station

Soyuz MS-26 arrived at the International Space Station on Wednesday (Sept. 11), completing an autonomous docking to the Rassvet mini-research module at 3:32 p.m. EDT (1932 GMT).

The two spacecraft made contact as they were traveling 260 miles over eastern Europe.

Following standard pressurization checks, the hatches between the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft and the space station will be opened.

posted 04-19-2025 05:03 PM               

Soyuz MS-26 undocks from space station

Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner together with NASA astronaut Don Pettit departed the International Space Station to return to Earth on Saturday (April 19). Their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft undocked from the Rassvet mini-research module at 5:57 p.m. EDT (2157 GMT) as the station and Soyuz were traveling 260 miles (420 km) above inner Mongolia.

A deorbit burn scheduled for 8:26 p.m. EDT (0026 GMT April 20) will set up a landing southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan at 9:20 p.m. EDT (0120 GMT or 6:20 a.m. local time).

posted 04-19-2025 09:25 PM               

NASA's oldest active astronaut lands with Soyuz MS-26 crewmates on his 70th birthday

NASA's oldest active astronaut has redefined traveling "home" for your birthday, landing from the International Space Station on the same day that he turned 70.

Don Pettit touched down on Saturday (April 19) with his Soyuz MS-26 crewmates, Aleksey Ovchinin, 53, and Ivan Vagner, 39. The U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts reached the ground in Kazakhstan at 9:20 p.m. EDT (0120 GMT or 6:20 a.m. local time April 20), seven months after they left Earth aboard the same spacecraft.