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On 2 April 2010, at 04:04 UTC a Soyuz-FG rocket will launch from Gagarin's Start (the same launch pad from which Yuri Gagarin flew) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome with the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft carrying two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut to the International Space Station for a six month stay on-orbit.

Crew:
Aleksandr Skvortsov (Russia) - Soyuz CDR and ISS Commander (Expedition 24) making his first spaceflight.
Tracy Caldwell-Dyson (USA) - Soyuz and ISS Flight Engineer making her second spaceflight.
Mikhail Korniyenko (Russia) - Soyuz and ISS Flight Engineer making his first spaceflight.

Left to right: Caldwell-Dyson, Skvortsov, Korniyenko

Short crew biographies (six minute-long video)(NASA PAO has made my job very easy):


Skvortsov was selected as a cosmonaut in 1997 and is 43 years of age (he turns 44 in May). Caldwell-Dyson was selected as an astronaut in 1998 and is 40 years of age (she turns 41 in August). She previously flew to the ISS as a Mission Specialist on STS-118 in August 2007. Korniyenko was selected as a cosmonaut in 1998 (the only Russian cosmonaut selected that year) and is 49 years of age (he turns 50 this month)



Launch is scheduled for 04:04 UTC on 2 April with coverage available on NASA TV. Docking to the ISS will be on 4 April with coverage also available on NASA TV.
NASA TV: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

During their six months in orbit, a number of historic events will take place. The first time that four women will be in space at the same time will occur later in April when STS-131 launches and Caldwell-Dyson is joined by fellow American astronauts Stephanie Wilson and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, and Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki. Caldwell-Dyson will also become only the 11th woman to walk in space when she participates in a stage EVA in July with fellow NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock (who launches in June). This crew will be at the ISS for the final planned flights of Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-132 in May) and Endeavour (STS-134 in July), according to the current NASA schedule.

To finish this post, here is an image of the rocket at the launch pad. It was rolled-out yesterday (two days before launch per Russian tradition):

Two things odd in the pictures: the jeans in the group shot, and the launch pad, which looks like some derelict machine in an overgrown field.

Lucas wrote:Two things odd in the pictures: the jeans in the group shot, and the launch pad, which looks like some derelict machine in an overgrown field.

Your have a point with the jeans. That struck me as well. As for the looks of the Launch pad, the Russians have always had a history of their airfields looking rather rough, but they also have a history of over making their aircraft to compensate for that.

Airfoilsguy wrote:

Lucas wrote:Two things odd in the pictures: the jeans in the group shot, and the launch pad, which looks like some derelict machine in an overgrown field.

Your have a point with the jeans. That struck me as well. As for the looks of the Launch pad, the Russians have always had a history of their airfields looking rather rough, but they also have a history of over making their aircraft to compensate for that.

As to the jeans, maybe he doesn't like khakis (I don't). Plus Mikhail isn't your regular run-of-the-mill Russian cosmonaut. If you have a look at his biography, it is not what you would expect and I'm guessing he likes to be a bit different than the rest.

As to the launch pad, the steppes of Kazakhstan are exactly that, fields. The Russians don't manicure their launch pads like we do, but they don't need to. The Soyuz rocket can trace its heritage back to the R-7 ICBM and they are meant to fly through anything since their original mission was to destroy us no matter what. I suggest looking back at the previous Soyuz launch threads and look at the pictures and launch videos. Nothing is out of place, or wrong, that is just how the Russians maintain their equipment. I'd board a Soyuz on this launch pad for a flight if given the chance.

That's very interesting to learn. Mikhail's biography was incredibly interesting, as well. He's done a lot.

As expected, with the usual Russian efficiency, the launch occurred on schedule with no problems. This launch continues the streak of making Soyuz-FG one of the most reliable launch vehicles in the world (100% success ratio since its introduction in 2001).

Launch image, courtesy of NASA's flicker:


Launch video:

The Russians have figured out how to make a reliable rocket. I will give them that.


Camera placement to tape that launch on a sunny day...They have a few things to learn.

Airfoilsguy wrote:Camera placement to tape that launch on a sunny day...They have a few things to learn.

That was only one view, but it was a short video. Here is a better one, but at a duration of 20 minutes:

If you are here now and want to watch the docking, it will occur in ten minutes.
Coverage is available live on NASA TV:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

The time has come for Aleksandr, Mikhail and Tracy to come home. Their return was originally scheduled for 23/24 September, but their homecoming on that day was not to be.

Their return was delayed by one day due to a broken mechanism on the ISS which kept the Soyuz latched and securely docked to the station. After some troubleshooting, the mechanism was successfully bypassed which allowed the Soyuz to undock the next day after spending 176 days in space.




Their replacements (NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, and Russian cosmonauts Aleksandr Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka) will launch in two weeks. Look for that thread in a few days...