Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev and Flight Engineers Barry Wilmore and Elena Serova safely docked to the space-facing Poisk module of the International Space Station at 10:11 p.m. EDT Thursday. The new Expedition 41/42 trio launched to the International Space Station at 4:25 p.m. from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Upon reaching its preliminary orbit following a flawless launch, only one of two power-producing solar arrays on the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft deployed. The crew aboard the Soyuz and Russian flight controllers discussed the status of the spacecraft which is otherwise in perfect shape. They continue to review data and troubleshoot the issue with the port array. There are now five spacecraft docked to the station its maximum visiting vehicle capacity. There are two Soyuz vehicles, one Progress 56 resupply ship, Europe’s “Georges Lemaître” ATV-5 and the SpaceX Dragon commercial space freighter which arrived Tuesday morning. Hatches between the Soyuz and the station will open around 11:55 p.m. after leak and pressure checks. The new crew will then float into their new home for a welcoming ceremony and congratulatory calls from family, friends and mission officials in Baikonur. After the ceremony has ended the new crew will undergo a mandatory safety orientation to familiarize themselves with escape paths and procedures and locations of safety gear. Wilmore is starting his second visit to the space station. He piloted space shuttle Atlantis in November 2009 which delivered two EXPRESS Logistics Carriers carrying station gear and returned Expedition 20/21 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott back to Earth. Samokutyaev is beginning his second stint at the orbital laboratory having served as an Expedition 23/24 Flight Engineer. He is replacing Skvortsov, who left the station two weeks ago, who also served as his crewmate in 2010. Serova is on her first mission as a cosmonaut. She is Russia’s first female cosmonaut to live and work on the International Space Station. They join their Expedition 40/41 crewmates Commander Max Suraev and Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst. The international crew from Roscosmos, NASA and the European Space Agency has been aboard the orbital complex since May 28 and are due to return home Nov. 9. Some of the cargo flown aboard this Soyuz will be used in research investigations that are either ongoing or planned aboard the International Space Station. Items such as questionnaires will be delivered to obtain in-flight data about crew member characteristics, such as day-to-day changes in health or incidence of pain or pressure in microgravity. One such investigation is Space Headaches which uses questionnaires to collect information about the prevalence and characteristics of crew members headaches in microgravity. This information is used to develop future countermeasures for headaches often caused by intracranial pressure change. Researchers will also use biological sample kits delivered by the Soyuz spacecraft to obtain samples of blood, saliva or urine. The ongoing collection of biological samples from crew members help scientists determine if immune system impairment caused by spaceflight increases the possibility for infection or poses a significant health risk during life aboard the space station. Expedition 41/42 is scheduled to return home March 11, 2015. Upon their undocking, Expedition 43 will have officially begun with Commander Anton Shkaplerov and Flight Engineers Terry Virts and Samantha Cristoforetti staying behind and taking the helm. - courtesy of NASA youtu.be/uvUcXwctK7g
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 04:30:39 +0000
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