The State Commission has finally approved the crew of the 73rd expedition of the Soyuz MS-27 manned spacecraft. The launch into orbit is scheduled for April 8 at 8:47:15 Moscow time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This was reported by the press service of Roscosmos.
The main crew included Alexey Zubritsky, Sergey Ryzhikov and NASA astronaut Johnny Kim.
The backup crew includes cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergey Mikaev and astronaut Christopher Williams.
The launch of the ship will take place from the Vostok launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and approximately 9 minutes after the launch, the crew should already be in orbit. The flight to the ISS will take place according to a two-orbit rendezvous scheme. It is assumed that the ship will dock with the Rassvet module of the Russian segment of the station at approximately 12:04 Moscow time. The return of the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft to Earth is scheduled for December 9, 2025.
As part of the mission, the cosmonauts will conduct 50 scientific studies, including two new ones. Also in October, Ryzhikov and Zubritsky will make two spacewalks.
Two members of the crew shared their personal plans for the mission. Thus, NASA astronaut Jim Kim will listen to his playlist on the way to the ISS, where he specially added the song American Boy performed by the Russian group "Combination", and the commander of the ship, Sergey Ryzhikov, will take a painted egg with him to celebrate Easter.
The newly appointed head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Bakanov, gave instructions to the cosmonauts and will also follow the broadcast.
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