The piloted spacecraft "Soyuz MS-29" with the crew of the 75th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Just 9 minutes after launch, the spacecraft separated from the "Soyuz-2.1a" launch vehicle and entered orbit.
The crew is scheduled to spend 261 days on the ISS – almost 9 months. During this time, the cosmonauts will perform about 40 scientific experiments and studies.
The expedition commander is Pyotr Dubrov, for whom this flight is the second in his career. Cosmonaut Anna Kikina went to the station with him; the third crew member is NASA astronaut Anil Menon, for whom the mission is a debut.
The flight follows a two-orbit rendezvous scheme, thanks to which the journey to the station takes only a few hours instead of two days, as it was a few years ago.
Dozens of kilograms of scientific equipment went into orbit with the crew. Among the new experiments are "Gas Analyzer-FS", designed to monitor the composition of the station's atmosphere, as well as the "Teledroid" project, related to remote control technologies for robotic systems.
In addition to scientific equipment, the spacecraft delivered to the station a gastronomic set of Russian cuisine dishes, specially prepared for the expedition participants.
After docking with the "Prichal" module, the crew will become part of one of the longest Russian expeditions in recent years.
Read more on the topic:
- The fate of the ISS will be decided in talks on July 14: Russia and NASA to discuss the future of the station
- ISS prepared for the finale: Russia and the USA agreed on a plan for the controlled deorbiting of the station
- "Soyuz-2.1a" is on the launchpad: the rocket with the new ISS crew has been installed at Baikonur