A Russian Soyuz rocket roared to life and streaked into orbit Wednesday, setting off for the International Space Station in a long-awaited mission to boost the lab's crew from three to six full-time residents.
With Apollo 11 moon walker Buzz Aldrin and a throng of dignitaries and well-wishers looking on, the Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft lifted off at 3:34 a.m. PDT and quickly climbed away from the sprawling Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft takes off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying an international crew of three.
(Credit: NASA TV)Live television shots from inside the capsule showed Soyuz commander Roman Romanenko, son of a Russian cosmonaut, at the controls in the capsule's center seat. He was flanked on the left by European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne of Belgium and on the right by Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk, a shuttle veteran.
Nine minutes after liftoff, the Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft slipped into its planned preliminary orbit and a few minutes later, its solar panels and antennas unfolded and locked in place as planned.
Over the next two days, Romanenko will oversee a series of rocket firings designed to bring the spacecraft to within a stone's throw of the space station. If all goes well, the Soyuz capsule will dock at an Earth-facing port on the front end of the space station's Russian Zarya module around 5:36 a.m. PDT Friday.
Waiting to welcome their new crewmates aboard will be Expedition 20 commander Gennady Padalka, NASA physician-astronaut Michael Barratt, and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata.
Milestone reached
A "six-person crew is a milestone in the history of the International Space Station," Thirsk said before launch. "In a big way, the International Space Station will be able to fulfill it's primary purpose, which is to function as a world-class orbiting laboratory for medical science and materials science."
The lab complex has been stocked with enough food to last the expanded crew through October even if subsequent shuttle and unmanned resupply missions get delayed. Oxygen is generated on board by U.S. and Russian systems and fresh water is delivered by shuttle crews and automated Russian supply ships.
Soyuz commander Roman Romanenko (left) and flight engineer Frank De Winne monitor cockpit displays during the climb to space Wednesday.
(Credit: NASA TV)In a major milestone, a sophisticated water-recycling system was installed late last year. After start-up problems were resolved, the new hardware was cleared for everyday use. The system recycles condensate and urine from a U.S. toilet in the Destiny lab module, generating ultra-pure water for drinking, crew hygiene, and oxygen generation.
The water recycling system will be critical to sustaining a six-person crew after the space shuttle is retired late next year.
"It will be a challenge for everybody to make sure we can sustain six persons on orbit," De Winne said before launch. "I think it shows a great example to the rest of the world that if nations want to work together for something great, for something wonderful, for something for the future of our kids, that we can achieve incredible things," he said.
Until now, the station's science output has been limited because assembly was ongoing and the lab's three full-time crew members were busy simply maintaining the growing complex. With a crew of six, the time devoted to scientific research is expected to jump from 20 hours a week to more than 70.
"We've been building the International Space Station for 10 years now and we've finally gotten to a point now where it has some incredible laboratory facilities and six people on board the station to do some science," Thirsk said. "So you're going to see over 1,000 hours (in the near term) of crew time devoted to research and development."
More than 100 experiments are planned for the Expedition 20 crew.
Romanenko and Padalka will bunk in the Russian Zvezda module, which is equipped with two sleep stations and a bathroom. Two more sound-proofed "cabins" are available in the Harmony module that serves as a hub between the European Columbus module, the Japanese Kibo lab and the U.S. Destiny module.
An additional U.S. sleep station is scheduled for launch in August and a fourth will be installed later. In the near term, one Expedition 20 astronaut will use a temporary sleep station in the Destiny module while another sleeps in Kibo. A second toilet, the one tied into the water recycling system, is available in Destiny as well, extending out into the lab's center aisle.
Challenges of doubling crew
While the space station is roomy compared with any previous spacecraft, a full-time crew of six will present challenges.
"Everyone knows what it's like to have the in-laws and friends and other family members over for the holidays for several days," Thirsk said. "There are line-ups at the bathroom, meals have to be properly coordinated, there are even line-ups for use of the phone, and everyone loses their personal space a little bit. But it's something we're willing to go through."
The expanded station crew faces a busy time line over the next few weeks. Padalka and Barratt are planning spacewalks on June 5 and 10 to prepare an upward-facing port of the Zvezda command module for attachment of another docking module.
Three days after the second spacewalk, NASA plans to launch the shuttle Endeavour on a five-spacewalk assembly mission to attach an experiment platform to the Kibo module and change out batteries on the station's oldest set of U.S. solar arrays.
Endeavour also will deliver a fresh crew member--Timothy Kopra--and bring Wakata back to Earth. Another crew swap is planned for a shuttle flight in August when NASA astronaut Nicole Stott replaces Kopra.
In a long-awaited milestone for the International Space Station, a Russian Soyuz rocket scheduled for launch early Wednesday will ferry three fresh crew members to the lab complex, boosting its crew size to six for the first time.
Soyuz TMA-15 commander Roman Romanenko (left), Robert Thirsk (center), and Frank De Winne before launch to the International Space Station
(Credit: RSC Energia)The Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft, mounted atop the same launch pad used by Yuri Gagarin at the dawn of the space age, is scheduled for takeoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6:34:49 a.m. EDT.
Soyuz commander Roman Romanenko, son of a Russian cosmonaut, will be strapped into the center seat, flanked by European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne of Belgium and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk, a shuttle veteran.
"I can't think of three finer gentlemen to help us realize our dream of six permanent crew in orbit," Mike Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager, told the Soyuz crew Tuesday.
Assuming an on-time liftoff, Romanenko plans to oversee an automated approach and docking to an Earth-facing port on the front end of the space station's Russian Zarya module at 8:36 a.m. Friday. Waiting to welcome their new crewmates aboard will be Expedition 20 commander Gennady Padalka, NASA flight engineer Michael Barratt, and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata.
Padalka and Barratt were launched to the station March 26 aboard the Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft. Wakata was launched aboard the shuttle Discovery on March 15, becoming Japan's first full-time station crew member.
The Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
(Credit: RSC Energia)With the arrival of Romanenko, De Winne, and Thirsk, all five of the space agencies building the International Space Station will be represented by full-time crew members for the first time.
"(A) six-person crew is a milestone in the history of the International Space Station," Thirsk said before launch. "In a big way, the International Space Station will be able to fulfill its primary purpose, which is to function as a world-class orbiting laboratory for medical science and materials science.
"But there are also practical issues to consider as well with a crew of six and one of our goals, with our three colleagues in orbit, is to prove that the station can support six people for a long duration."
Dropping to Earth under a huge parachute, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying outgoing space station Commander Mike Fincke, Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov, and space tourist Charles Simonyi settled to a jarring landing in Kazakhstan on Wednesday after a descent from the International Space Station.
Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft at the moment of touchdown in Kazakhstan.
(Credit: NASA)With Lonchakov at the controls, the central descent module of the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft touched down at 3:16 a.m. EDT northeast of Dzhezkazgan, coming to rest on its side.
Russian recovery forces were staged nearby to assist the returning space fliers, as required, and by 3:30 a.m., all three were resting comfortably in reclining chairs near the descent module, smiling and chatting with flight surgeons and technicians.
"It landed just a few kilometers long of its intended site, but essentially a dead-on, spot-on, bull's-eye landing for Mike Fincke, Yury Lonchakov, and Charles Simonyi," said NASA commentator Rob Navias from the landing site. "The Soyuz landed on its side. That is very typical for a Soyuz landing. It is breezy out here today; the wind caught the chutes, pulled the capsule over. But it was a very quick extraction out of the top hatch for the three crew members. They all look to be in excellent shape."
Landing came one day later than originally planned because of soggy conditions at the normal landing zone north of Arkalyk.
The Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station at 11:55 p.m. Tuesday. Lonchakov carried out a four-and-a-half-minute deorbit rocket firing at 2:24 a.m., slowing the ship by about 258 mph and putting it on the proper trajectory for landing.
Just before atmospheric entry, Russian flight controllers lost contact with the spacecraft, but the three modules making up the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft apparently separated as planned, and the central descent module carrying the crew made a normal re-entry. Communications were restored a few minutes before the craft's braking parachute was deployed, and Lonchakov reported "nominal" conditions on board.
Returning space station crew relaxes after landing (seated, left to right): Charles Simonyi, Yury Lonchakov, Mike Fincke.
(Credit: NASA TV)"We're happy to say one more space flight mission is now in the history books," an unidentified Russian observed.
U.S. flight controllers then called the space station, informing Expedition 19 commander Gennady Padalka, flight engineer Michael Barratt, and Koichi Wakata that their crewmates had made a safe landing.
"Hey guys, just in case you didn't have good video and audio during that, the Soyuz landed safely. The crew reported they feel fine. SAR (search-and-recovery) forces are on the scene," called the spacecraft communicator.
"We did get that, and thanks so much for the video," Barratt replied. "We saw it, and hurrah for the 18 crew and Charles Simonyi, and welcome them back to Earth."
Touchdown ended a 178-day voyage for Fincke and Lonchakov, who were launched to the station October 12 as the core members of the lab's 18th full-time crew. Fincke's time in space through two space station expeditions now stands at 366 days, putting him third on the list of most experienced U.S. astronauts, behind Peggy Whitson, with 377 days, and Mike Foale, with 374 days.
Lonchakov's total for three space missions stands at 201 days, while Simonyi's 13-day station visit boosted his two-flight total to 27 days. Simonyi, a Hungarian-born U.S. software developer, is the first space tourist to make two privately financed trips to the space station. His wife, Lisa, was standing by at the recovery zone to welcome him back to Earth with a kiss.
Lisa Simonyi welcomes husband Charles back to Earth after space station visit.
(Credit: NASA TV)"It was a difficult decision for me to fly for the second time, and now, looking back, I'm so glad that I've done it," Simonyi said Tuesday during a brief farewell ceremony aboard the station. "It was a great trip. Thank you, everyone. I'm looking forward to (getting) home to my wife, but it was a fantastic trip. Thank you."
An inflatable tent was set up at the landing site for initial medical checks before helicopter flights back to Karaganda and then a three-hour flight to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City near Moscow, where friends and family members were waiting.
Fincke was welcomed home in Kazakhstan by NASA space station Program Manager Mike Suffredini, chief astronaut Steve Lindsey, and a NASA flight surgeon Steve Hart.
Outgoing International Space Station Commander Mike Fincke, Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov, and space tourist Charles Simonyi bid farewell to their station crewmates Tuesday and boarded a Soyuz ferry craft for re-entry and landing Wednesday in Kazakhstan.
Fincke and Lonchakov, launched to the International Space Station on October 12, are wrapping up a 178-day stay off planet as the core members of the lab's 18th full-time crew. Simonyi, a wealthy software developer making his second paid trip to the station, took off March 26 with Expedition 19 commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineer Michael Barratt.
After a busy day of packing and readying the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft for re-entry, Fincke, Lonchakov, and Simonyi shared hugs and handshakes with Padalka, Barratt, and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata before floating into the ferry craft around 8:45 p.m. EDT. Hatches were closed a few moments later to set the stage for undocking just before midnight. Landing is expected around 3:16 a.m. Wednesday.
Mike Fincke enters the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft to prepare for landing Wednesday in Kazakhstan.
(Credit: NASA TV)In a brief farewell ceremony earlier Tuesday, Fincke thanked his crewmates for a successful mission and said he looked forward to re-entry in the Russian Soyuz, "a great, reliable transport vehicle, up and down...It's going to be an interesting and fun ride back."
"I think the coolest thing in my life, outside of being married to a beautiful woman and having three kids, is to work with the international partners, all of us, the United States, Canada, the European Space Agency, Japan, and of course, Russia," he said. "We do everything together, we're humanity's bright hope for the future.
"So we're handing you over a station with all that," he told Padalka, Barratt and Wakata. "The pressure's on, guys...Good luck to you."
"Well, from where I stand, I think humanity got a wonderful space station," said Simonyi, the only space tourist to make two trips to the lab complex. "Maybe the only thing that is more remarkable than the size and the effectiveness of this space vehicle is the people serving on board...It was a difficult decision for me to fly for the second time and now, looking back, I'm so glad that I've done it...It was a great trip, thank you everyone. I'm looking forward to get home, to my wife, but it was a fantastic trip. Thank you."
Padalka then took the microphone, saying in English, "thank you very much, guys, for (leaving) a space station in great, safe condition for us. (We're) ready to accept space station command and ready to continue our research and to prepare space station for six-person crew. Honestly, we'll be missing you. You'll be always in our hearts and we'll be looking forward to seeing you again as soon as possible. But not earlier than in six months!"
Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke (facing camera) embraces Expedition 19 Commander Gennady Padalka in joint crew farewell ceremony.
(Credit: NASA TV)Padalka, Barratt, and Wakata plan to welcome three additional crew members in late May--cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne of Belgium, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk--as the station project transitions to a six-person crew for the first time.
Fincke, Lonchakov, and Sandra Magnus, who returned to Earth aboard the shuttle Discovery on March 28, completed final preparations for the long-awaited crew increase, hooking up and testing a complex waterrecycling system and accepting delivery of a fourth and final set of solar arrays.
"The can-do crew came through and we all worked together," Fincke radioed flight controllers Tuesday during his final daily planning conference. "So we're very proud of that, especially today."
The Soyuz TMA-13 re-entry originally was planned for Tuesday, but rain, snow, and soggy terrain in the normal landing zone northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, prompted Russian mission managers to delay the crew's return by one day to move the landing zone about 190 miles to the southeast, where conditions were more favorable.
Lonchakov will serve as commander of the Soyuz spacecraft, sitting in the center seat of the central descent module, with Fincke, serving as flight engineer, to his left and Simonyi on his right.
Undocking from the downward-facing port of the Russian Zarya module is targeted for around 11:55 p.m. EDT Tuesday. After moving a safe distance away and reaching the proper point in their orbit, Lonchakov will oversee a planned 4-minute, 21-second rocket firing at 2:24 a.m. EDT, that will slow the craft by about 258 mph and put it on the proper re-entry trajectory.
After falling to an altitude of about 87 miles, the three modules making up the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft will separate and the central descent module will enter the discernible atmosphere at an altitude of about 62 miles at 2:52 a.m. EDT. If all goes well, the module's main parachute will deploy shortly after 3 a.m. EDT for a rocket-assisted touchdown at 3:16:29 a.m. EDT.
Here is an updated re-entry timeline (in EDT and mission elapsed time; dV: change in velocity):
EDT........DDD...HH...MM...EVENT 04/07/09 09:59 PM...177...18...58...U.S.-to-Russian attitude control handover 10:16 PM...177...19...15...Russian ground station acquisition of signal 10:28 PM...177...19...27...ISS maneuver to duty attitude 10:33 PM...177...19...32...Russian ground station loss of signal 11:22 PM...177...20...21...ISS maneuver to undocking attitude 11:24 PM...177...20...23...Sunrise 11:49 PM...177...20...48...Russian ground station acquisition of signal 11:51 PM...177...20...50...ISS to free drift 11:52 PM...177...20...51...Undocking command 11:55 PM...177...20...54...Physical separation (11:55:30 p.m.; dV: 0.3 mph) 11:58 PM...177...20...57...Soyuz separation burn 1 (15 sec; dV: 1.2 mph) 04/08/09 12:00 AM...177...20...59...ISS maneuver to duty attitude 12:08 AM...177...21...07...Russian ground station loss of signal 12:23 AM...177...21...22...Sunset 01:24 AM...177...22...23...Russian-to-U.S. attitude control handover 02:24 AM...177...23...23...Soyuz de-orbit burn start (2:24:26 a.m.; dV: 257.7 mph) 02:27 AM...177...23...26...Sunrise 02:29 AM...177...23...27...Deorbit burn complete (2:28:47 a.m.) 02:49 AM...177...23...48...Separation of modules (87 miles) 02:52 AM...177...23...51...Atmospheric entry (62.5 miles) 02:54 AM...177...23...53...Entry guidance start (50.1 miles) 02:59 AM...177...23...58...Maximum G-load (23.8 miles) 03:01 AM...177...23...60...Command to open parachute (6.6 miles) 03:16 AM...178...00...15...Landing (3:16:29 a.m.; 1:16 p.m. local) 10:03 AM...178...07...02...Sunset at landing site
"The Russian search and recovery forces...are putting the final touches on their landing plans for this homecoming in the southeastern region of Kazakhstan," NASA landing commentator Rob Navias said early Tuesday. "Late tonight U.S. time, as the Soyuz undocks from the International Space Station, the recovery team will begin to make their way to the airport here in Karaganda, where seven Mi-8 helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft will be standing by to take off for an hour-and-40-minute flight to the landing zone."
Four helicopters will fly directly to the planned landing site 134 miles northeast of Dzhezkazgan while three will be stationed midway between the planned landing site and the so-called "ballistic" landing area where the Soyuz could end up if a problem of some sort causes a steeper-than-usual re-entry.
Assuming a normal touchdown, recovery forces will be on hand within minutes to assist the returning crew.
"One of the first helicopters to land will contain medical personnel to place the crew into reclining chairs so they can begin to acclimate themselves to Earth's gravity, particularly Fincke and Lonchakov, who have been off the planet for a half year," Navias said.
Assuming an on-time landing, Fincke will have logged 178 days in space, pushing his total through two space station expeditions to 366 days, third on the list of most experienced U.S. astronauts behind Peggy Whitson (377 days) and Mike Foale (374 days).
Lonchakov will have logged 178 days in space on this flight for a total time of 201 days over three missions. Simonyi's total will be 13 days in space for this flight, 27 including his first station visit in 2007.
An inflatable tent will be set up at the landing site for initial medical checks before helicopter flights back to Karaganda and then a three-hour flight to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City near Moscow where friends and family members will be waiting.
Fincke will be welcomed home in Kazakhstan by NASA space station Program Manager Mike Suffredini, chief astronaut Steve Lindsey and a NASA flight surgeon, Steve Hart. Fincke's family will be waiting in Star City.
Snow and soggy conditions at the primary landing site in Kazakhstan prompted Russian flight planners on Friday to order a 24-hour delay, from April 7 to 8, for the return to Earth of a Soyuz capsule carrying outgoing space station commander Mike Fincke, flight engineer Yury Lonchakov, and space tourist Charles Simonyi.
The mission had been scheduled to conclude with a touchdown on April 7 northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, but the landing zone has been moved to a backup site about 180 miles to the southeast, where conditions may be more favorable. Touchdown now is targeted for 3:15 a.m. EDT on April 8.
Fincke and Lonchakov were launched to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft October 12. Their replacements--Expedition 19 commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineer Michael Barratt, a NASA physician-astronaut--were launched March 26 aboard the Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft. They were joined by Simonyi, a Hungarian-born U.S. software developer making his second privately funded trip to the space station.
During a change-of-command ceremony Thursday, Fincke formally handed the station over to Padalka, saying "all systems are in order, and Yury and I can now take a little bit of a rest and get ready, along with Charles, to come back to the planet."
"Thank you very much, my best friend," Padalka replied. "Expedition 19 is very happy to get (the) space station in great operational condition...We're ready to work on behalf of all our space agencies and..all human beings."
With a handshake, Expedition 18 commander Mike Fincke, right, transfers command to Expedition 19 commander Gennady Padalka. Crew, from left to right: Charles Simonyi, Michael Barratt, Padalka, Yury Lonchakov, Fincke, Koichi Wakata.
(Credit: NASA TV)If all goes well, Fincke, Lonchakov, and Simonyi will say farewell to Padalka, Barratt, and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata the evening of April 7, sealing hatches between the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft and the downward-facing port of the Russian Zarya module around 8:45 p.m.
Undocking is planned for 11:55 p.m., with a 22-second deorbit rocket firing expected at 2:24 a.m. on April 8. The three modules making up the Soyuz spacecraft will separate just before atmospheric entry at 2:52 a.m., and the central crew module carrying Fincke, Lonchakov, and Simonyi will descend to a parachute-and-rocket-assisted touchdown at 3:15 a.m.
Assuming an on-time landing, Fincke will have logged 178 days in space, pushing his total time through two space station expeditions to 366 days, third on the list of most experienced U.S. astronauts behind Peggy Whitson (377 days) and Mike Foale (374 days).
Lonchakov will have logged 178 days in space on this flight for a total time of 201 days over three missions. Simonyi's total will be 13 days in space for this flight for a total of 27 including his first station visit in 2007.
Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft, foreground, with Progress supply ship in background.
(Credit: NASA TV)Simonyi's visit was arranged through Space Adventures, a Vienna, Virginia-based company that has brokered seven space tourist flights using available seats on Russian Soyuz capsules, beginning in 2001 with U.S. businessman Dennis Tito.
But plans to boost the station's crew size from three to six in late May could mean a hiatus in tourist flights, at least in the near term. While one seat on a Soyuz flight scheduled for launch this fall apparently has opened up, it's not yet clear whether the Russians will fill the slot with a professional cosmonaut or allow Space Adventures to book one of its clients who has gone through training as a backup.
"There is a possibility that one of Space Adventures' clients could launch on Soyuz TMA-16, which is currently scheduled for launch this September 30," Eric Anderson, CEO of Space Adventures, told reporters Friday. "We have learned from Roskosmos (the Russian space agency) that the third seat aboard Soyuz TMA-16 may not, in fact, be used by the cosmonaut from Kazakhstan, and if that seat is not used...Roskosmos is considering both the possibility of another spaceflight participant opportunity for Space Adventures or using the seat for a professional Russian cosmonaut."
Esther Dyson, a respected high-tech journalist, entrepreneur, and Space Adventures investor, trained as Simonyi's backup and attended his launch at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. But it's not clear whether she could fly on such short notice or whether she could complete required training in time. There are no other known clients who are thought to have a realistic shot at the September flight.
Even so, Anderson expressed optimism that additional seats will open up occasionally, and he said the company is pressing ahead with plans for privately funded Soyuz missions, starting in 2012, that would include a Russian commander and two tourists per mission.
But it's not yet known whether the Russians can build enough Soyuz capsules and rockets to support expanded space station operations as well as tourist flights. Between the end of shuttle operations in 2010 and the debut of its replacement in 2015, the Soyuz flight rate will have to double to support six-person crew operations aboard the space station.
"I am aware of the questions that have been raised regarding the ability of the Russian space industry to supply an increased number of Soyuz missions," Anderson said. "Building rockets is a complicated business; it's certainly challenging, but...I'm confident (that) by 2012, for example, the prospect of adding a fifth Soyuz is something that is reasonable."
But tickets to space, assuming that the seats are available, will be increasingly expensive.
Tito's ticket reportedly cost $20 million. The price has since gone up to about $35 million, according to Simonyi. In a prelaunch telephone interview with CBS News, Simonyi said the future of commercial spaceflight is "certainly not my concern." But, he added, "my feeling is (that) the commercial pressures will be toward resolving this and (having) more flights."
Even at the current list price, Simonyi said, the experience of flying in space is worth it for those who can afford the cost.
"The price is going up," Simonyi said. "Future seats that NASA has bought are even more expensive. This has to be put into perspective because other means of getting to space are even more expensive. So this one is actually quite cost-effective at the current state of technology."
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