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International Space Station

Cargo Spacecraft Docks at Space Station After Baikonur Lift-Off

A Russian cosmonaut on the International Space Station conducted a manual docking of an arriving cargo spacecraft on Tuesday, two days after the craft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The docking would normally be an automatic process, but the Russian space agency Roscosmos had said that an antenna used in that process remained unfolded after the uncrewed Progress MS-33 cargo ship launched on a Soyuz-2.1a rocket on Sunday. Troubleshooting efforts during the journey to the space station, or ISS, failed to fix the problem. On board the space station, cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov used a joystick during the manual docking. A live video feed on the NASA website showed that the procedure went smoothly as the cargo ship slowed down and approached its docking port on the Russian segment of the ISS. “Well done, congratulations on your successful work!” Roscosmos said on Telegram. A NASA commentator said the docking process occurred as the space station and cargo spacecraft flew about 400 kilometers over the border between Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The Progress MS-33 had launched from a key Baikonur launch pad that was repaired and used for the first time since it was damaged in a lift-off in November. It carried about 2.7 tons of food, fuel and other supplies to the International Space Station.

Baikonur

Russian Spacecraft Lifts Off from Repaired Launch Pad at Baikonur

An unmanned spacecraft has launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, marking the first take-off from a key launch pad that was damaged in November. The Progress MS-33 spacecraft is carrying nearly three tons of food, fuel and other supplies for the International Space Station, where docking is scheduled to occur on Tuesday. An antenna used to ensure automatic docking with the space station remained unfolded after the cargo ship launched on a Soyuz-2.1a rocket on Sunday, according to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. As a result, cosmonaut Sergei Kud-Svichkov, who is on board the space station, will conduct a manual docking of the approaching spacecraft, it said. Cosmonauts regularly train for such manual approaches. Roscosmos had said the launch on Sunday would be the first from Baikonur’s “launch complex No. 31 after its reconstruction — the main platform for the Russian space program.” A spacecraft that launched in November with two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut safely reached the International Space Station, but damage to the launch pad raised concerns about delays in the resupply of the station. Supplies on the cargo ship currently heading to the space station include fuel, drinking water, food rations, equipment for repairs and maintenance, oxygen, and medical supplies. The craft will remain docked to the station for about six months “before departing for a destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew,” NASA said. The U.S. space agency noted that another Russian spacecraft had undocked from the station on March 16, “re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, and burned up harmlessly over the Pacific Ocean.”

Baikonur

Soyuz Crew Lands Safely in Kazakhstan After Space Mission

An American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts landed in Kazakhstan on Tuesday after leaving the International Space Station, or ISS, in a Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft, ending an eight-month stay in space. NASA´s Jonny Kim and Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, made the parachute-assisted landing in the steppes southeast of Zhezkazgan, in the central part of the country. “Early in the morning, they were on the ISS, and now they are on Earth,” Roscosmos said on Telegram. “Over the course of 245 days in space, the crew orbited Earth 3,920 times, traveling nearly 104 million miles,” NASA said. “They launched to the space station on April 8. This mission marked the first spaceflight for both Kim and Zubritsky, while Ryzhikov completed his third journey to space, logging a total of 603 days in space.” [caption id="attachment_40649" align="aligncenter" width="1307"] Image: Roscosmos[/caption] Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the safe landing and congratulated the three men on completing their mission aboard the International Space Station. The men conducted a number of scientific experiments on the station. “Kazakhstan remains a trusted partner in international space cooperation, providing essential infrastructure and conditions that support safe and successful human spaceflight,” the ministry said. The Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is a mainstay of the Russian space program.

Baikonur

Critical Baikonur Launch Pad Hit by Damage After Soyuz MS-28 Liftoff

Russia’s space agency has confirmed that a launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was damaged during the liftoff of a Soyuz spacecraft that carried three crew to the International Space Station, raising questions about the near-term launch schedule at the site that Russia has relied on for more than six decades. Roscosmos reported that the Soyuz MS-28 mission lifted off from Baikonur on November 26 and reached orbit without problems. The spacecraft carried Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikayev, and NASA astronaut Christopher Williams. The crew docked with the station about three hours later. Roscosmos said in a statement on its official Telegram channel that the crew was healthy and the spacecraft worked as planned. Soon after the launch, engineers inspected Launch Pad 31/6, which served as the departure point for the flight. The agency said the inspection found damage to several structural elements on the pad and that repair work would start soon. Roscosmos said all required parts were on hand and the pad would be restored in the near future. Both The Moscow Times and Russian state media, including RIA Novosti, reported that the pad sustained damage but did not identify specific components. Roscosmos confirmed that “damage to several elements of the launch pad was detected.” Independent analysts have stated the damage might be more serious than Roscosmos has suggested, with Anatoly Zak, who publishes technical assessments of Russian space activity at RussiaSpaceWeb, reporting that a mobile service platform may have collapsed into the flame trench below the pad during or shortly after liftoff. Zak noted that the available launch pad for Russian crew missions might be unusable until engineers confirm the structure’s stability, and that it was unclear how soon crews or cargo could fly from Baikonur if the pad requires major work. Roscosmos has not confirmed a collapse of the platform, and it has not provided further details about the condition of the pad. The agency said the accident did not affect the MS-28 mission itself, which it described as nominal. But any impact on the pad is notable because Russia depends on Baikonur for its Soyuz crew launches. Russia leases the site from Kazakhstan through 2050 and continues to use its Soviet-era pads because Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East is not yet certified for crew flights. Russian outlets noted that future launches could face adjustments, but none reported a confirmed delay of a Progress mission. Roscosmos has neither confirmed the schedule nor said whether that mission will move to a later date. NASA has not issued a public statement about the status of joint operations after the incident. Russia and the United States continue to exchange seats on Soyuz and SpaceX vehicles under a 2022 agreement that allows both sides to maintain a sustained presence on the International Space Station. NASA has said the arrangement reduces risk because each side can reach the station even if one spacecraft type is grounded for technical reasons. The new damage at Baikonur highlights the...

Baikonur

Latest Baikonur Launch Pays Tribute to 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Mission

In July 1975, millions of people watched on television as a U.S. Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz capsule in a crewed mission in orbit that symbolized collaboration between the two superpowers at the height of Cold War enmity. That remarkable moment 50 years ago is being commemorated on a Soyuz rocket carrying a Russian cargo spacecraft that launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan – early on Friday, Baikonur time - and is scheduled to reach the International Space Station after a two-day trip. The spacecraft is loaded with more than 2.5 tons of fuel, drinking water, food, medicine, science equipment, and other supplies for the crew on the station. The Soyuz rocket currently heading to the ISS is painted white and blue and has an emblem marking the anniversary of the Soyuz-Apollo docking, which was the first international space mission. It had begun on July 15, 1975, when two Soviet cosmonauts launched from Baikonur and, hours later, three American astronauts blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Russians and the Americans connected in space two days later, shaking hands, exchanging gifts, and sharing a meal. The show of comity in space contrasted with the intense competition between the two global rivals that was known as the “space race,” which included the Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite into orbit in 1957 and the Apollo 11 landing of American astronauts on the moon in 1969. “I really believe that we were sort of an example … to the countries. We were a little of a spark or a foot in the door that started better communications,” Apollo astronaut Vance Brand had said, according to a NASA account of the Apollo-Soyuz mission. Tensions between Russia and the United States escalated after Moscow launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, though relations improved after U.S. President Donald Trump took office for a second term in January. The U.S. and Russian space agencies have continued to collaborate over the course of the protracted war. Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, refers to the cargo spacecraft currently in orbit as Progress MS-31, while the U.S. agency NASA uses the term Progress 92 because it’s the 92nd Russian resupply craft to launch in support of the International Space Station since its construction began in 1998. The Apollo-Soyuz mission has been described as a precursor of the ISS project.

Space Exploration

NASA’s Oldest Active Astronaut, Two Russian Cosmonauts, Land in Kazakhstan

Accompanied by two Russian cosmonauts, NASA astronaut Donald Pettit marked his 70th birthday on Sunday with a parachute-supported landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan after a journey back to Earth from the International Space Station. A Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft carrying Pettit, as well as cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, touched down at 6:20 a.m. local time southeast of Zhezkazgan, a city in Kazakhstan’s central Ulytau region. The three men had launched from the Russia-operated Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and docked at the station on Sept. 11 last year, spending a total of 220 days in space. “Rehabilitation and a meeting with loved ones lie ahead!” Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said on Telegram. Photographs and video of the landing showed Pettit giving a thumbs-up as support team members carried him away from the spacecraft. Ovchinin and Vagner were shown wrapped in blankets and smiling broadly. Pettit, Ovchinin and Vagner orbited the Earth 3,520 times and traveled 93.3 million miles during their mission, according to NASA. It was Pettit’s fourth spaceflight and he has spent a total of 590 days in orbit. Ovchinin, also a four-time spaceflight traveler, has spent just five days longer than Pettit in space. Vagner has logged 416 days in space on his two trips. While American John Glenn became the oldest person to go to space in 1998 at age 77, Pettit is NASA’s oldest active astronaut. During his time on the space station, Pettit researched how to enhance in-orbit metal 3D printing capabilities, advance water sanitization technologies, explore plant growth under varying water conditions, and investigate fire behavior in microgravity, NASA said. His photography also attracted followers back on Earth. “Mother Earth, I am coming home,” Pettit posted on X on Saturday.