Keep the shuttle flying: Fwd: Soyuz TMA-14M Launched

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: September 25, 2014 8:44:00 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Soyuz TMA-14M Launched - one solar array fails to deploy

Новости Роскосмоса
Состоялся запуск пилотируемого корабля «Союз ТМА-14М»
26.09.2014 00:33
26 сентября в 00 час 25 минут по московскому времени со стартового комплекса площадки 1 («Гагаринский старт») космодрома Байконур пусковыми расчетами предприятий ракетно-космической промышленности России произведен успешный пуск ракеты космического назначения (РКН) «Союз-ФГ», предназначенной для выведения на орбиту транспортного пилотируемого корабля (ТПК) «Союз ТМА-14М».
Через 528 секунд полета ТПК «Союз ТМА-14М» штатно отделился от третьей ступени ракеты-носителя на орбите искусственного спутника Земли. Экипаж корабля в составе командира космонавта Роскосмоса Александра Самокутяева, бортинженеров - Елены Серовой (Роскосмос) и Барри Уилмора (NASA) чувствуется себя хорошо.
Стыковка ТПК «Союз ТМА-14М» с Международной космической станцией запланирована на 06.15 мск 26 сентября.
Пресс-служба Роскосмоса

The launch of the manned spacecraft "Soyuz TMA-14M"
09/26/2014 00:33
September 26 at 00 hours 25 minutes Moscow time from the launch pad 1 ("Gagarin Launch") Baikonur Cosmodrome launchers calculations of rocket-space industry Russia successfully launched a space rocket (RCN) "Soyuz-FG", intended for injection into orbit manned spacecraft (WPK) "Soyuz TMA-14M."
Through 528 seconds of flight TPK "Soyuz TMA-14M" cleanly separated from the third stage of the launch vehicle to orbit an artificial satellite of the Earth. The crew consisting of commander cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaeva Roscosmos, flight engineers - Elena Serova (Roscosmos) and Barry Wilmore (NASA) feels good.
Docking TPK "Soyuz TMA-14M" to the International Space Station is scheduled for 06.15 MSK on 26 September.
Roscosmos press service

September 25, 2014
RELEASE 14-249

New Crew Launches to Space Station to Continue Scientific Research

Expedition 41 Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), bottom, Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore of NASA, middle, and Flight Engineer Elena Serova of Roscosmos, top, wave farewell prior to boarding the Soyuz TMA-14M rocket for launch, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Three crew members representing the United States and Russia are on their way to the International Space Station after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:25 p.m. EDT Thursday, Sept. 25 (2:25 a.m. on Sept. 26 in Baikonur).
The Soyuz capsule carrying Barry "Butch" Wilmore of NASA and Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) is scheduled to dock with the space station about six hours after launch at 10:16 p.m.
NASA Television coverage of docking will begin at 9 p.m. Hatches are scheduled to open at about 11:50 p.m., with NASA TV coverage starting at 11 p.m.
The arrival of Wilmore, Samokutyaev and Serova returns the station's crew complement to six. The three will join Expedition 41 Commander Max Suraev of Roscosmos, Reid Wiseman of NASA and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency. They have been aboard the complex since May.
Suraev, Wiseman and Gerst will return home in November. At that time, Wilmore will become commander of the station for Expedition 42. Wilmore, Samokutyaev and Serova will return to Earth in March 2015.
The Soyuz TMA-14M rocket launched with Expedition 41 Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Elena Serova of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore of NASA Friday, Sept. 26, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Image Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
The crew members will be working off the Earth, for the Earth, conducting hundreds of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations during their six-month sojourn on the orbiting laboratory. This research includes seedling growth, observation of meteors entering Earth's atmosphere and studies of animal biology and bone and muscle physiology.
One new study, the Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) 19, will focus on the growth and development of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings in microgravity. A. thaliana is a small flowering plant related to cabbage. Researchers hope to gain a better understanding of how the growth responses of plants alter in microgravity. The seedlings will be preserved and returned to the ground for evaluation. BRIC helps to maximize research and minimize space and crew time. The hardware also adds to the collective body of knowledge about basic plant growth phenomena and may help improve growth and biomass production to benefit farming practices on Earth.
Another new space station investigation is the Meteor Composition Determination (Meteor). Meteor will enable the first space-based scientific investigation of meteors as they enter Earth's atmosphere. Meteor uses high-resolution video and image analysis of the atmosphere to ascertain the physical and chemical properties of meteoroid dust, such as size, density and chemical composition. Because scientists can usually identify the parent comets or asteroids for most meteor showers, the study of the meteoroid dust from the space station provides information about the parent comets and asteroids. Investigating the elemental composition of meteors adds to our understanding of how the planets developed, and continuous measurement of meteor interactions with Earth's atmosphere could spot previously unforeseen meteor showers.
Effects of Gravity on Maintenance of Muscle Mass in Zebrafish (Zebrafish Muscle) is an investigation that will observe the effects of microgravity on the zebrafish, Danio rerio, a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family. The goal of the study is to determine whether zebrafish muscles weaken in microgravity similarly to human muscles and, if so, isolate the cause. Results from the Zebrafish Muscle investigation may help identify molecular changes involved in the deterioration of muscles exposed to microgravity. This data can help scientists develop new treatments for weakened muscles. The findings could potentially benefit patients on extended bed rest or with limited mobility. In addition, this information would aid researchers in developing countermeasures for muscle weakness in astronauts living in microgravity during extended missions.
The new crew members will perform additional experiments that cover human research, biological and physical sciences, technology development and Earth observations, as well as engage in educational activities. The crew will conduct one Russian and as many as three U.S. spacewalks. They will greet two Russian Progress spacecraft resupply flights, the third commercial resupply flight of Orbital Science's Cygnus spacecraft and the fifth and sixth flights of SpaceX's Dragon cargo spacecraft.
The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and makes research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station has had continuous human occupation since November 2000. In that time, it has received more than 200 visitors and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in exploration.
For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv
For more information about the International Space Station, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
Follow the crew members on Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/nasa_astronauts
http://www.twitter.com/astro_reid
http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Alex
http://www.twitter.com/Msuraev
To follow activities on orbit, visit the space station Facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/ISS
-end-
Joshua Buck
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
jbuck@nasa.gov
Dan Huot
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
daniel.g.huot@nasa.gov
New Station Trio Launches to Expand Expedition 41 to Six
September 25, 2014
The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft launches on time carrying a new Expedition 41 trio to their new home on orbit.
Image Credit:
NASA/Joel Kowsky
Download Flickr image
Expedition 41 crew members pose for a photo at the conclusion of the press conference held at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Sept. 24, 2014.
Image Credit:
NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
Download Flickr image
The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft is seen after being raised into a vertical position on the launch pad on Sept. 23, 2014 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Image Credit:
NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
Download Flickr image
Upon reaching its preliminary orbit following a flawless launch, only one of two power-producing solar arrays on the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft deployed. Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev and Flight Engineers Barry Wilmore and Elena Serova are in no danger as they prepare for docking to the space-facing Poisk module of the International Space Station at 10:15 p.m. EDT
The crew aboard the Soyuz and Russian flight controllers discussed the status of the spacecraft which is otherwise in perfect shape. Russian engineers believe the Soyuz can reach the International Space Station for a nominal docking later today as they continue to review data and troubleshoot the issue with the port array.
Two rendezvous burns of the Soyuz engine to fine-tune its path to the station have been conducted normally.
The new Expedition 41/42 trio is on its way to the International Space Station after lifting off at 4:25 p.m. EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev and Flight Engineers Barry Wilmore and Elena Serova are on a six-hour, four-orbit ride to the International Space Station inside the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft.
There will soon be five spacecraft docked to the station reaching its maximum visiting vehicle capacity. There will be 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.
The Poisk docking compartment will host the new Soyuz when it docks at 10:15 p.m. 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 will join their orbiting 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.
› Read more about Space Headaches
› Read more about 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.

Russia's Soyuz spaceship enters designated orbit
September 26, 1:05 UTC+4
"All the three crewmembers feel well," a spokesman for the Russian Federal Space Agency said

Yelena Serova
© EPA/YURI KOCHETKOV
BAIKONUR, September 26. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia's Soyuz TMA-14M manned spaceship with an international crew of a long-duration expedition 41-42 separated from the carrier rocket and entered a designated orbit, a Baikonur spokesman told ITAR-TASS on Thursday.
The spaceship is piloted by Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Samokutyayev. He and his crew mates Yelena Serova and American astronaut Barry Wilmore when reaching the ISS will join Maksim Surayev, Gregory Wiseman, and Alexander Gerst, who have been workign aboard the ISS since May this year. The new crew will work in orbit for 169 days.
"All the three crewmembers feel well," a spokesman for the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said.
The spaceship TMA-14M is to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) after a shortened, six-hour, flight. One of the advantages of the shortened-flight diagram is that the crew do not have to get adapted to zero gravity in the closed space of the spaceship Soyuz. The condition of weightlessness begins to tell on the human organism in about five hours' time (of the flight), that is, the cosmonauts will be adapting themselves to zero gravity when aboard the ISS - in comfortable conditions.
It is the second flight for the crew's commander Aleksandr Samokutyayev. His first space flight took place in 2011. Barry Wilmore is no novice in space flights either - he was among the crew of the U.S. space shuttle in the autumn of 2009. For Yelena Serova, this is the first flight in her career. Moreover, she is the first Russian woman cosmonaut to set out on a long space flight in the past 20 years. Her predecessor, Yelena Kondakova, made a five-month orbital flight aboard the Mir space station in 1994.
When in orbit, the new crew are to perform an extensive programme for scientific studies and applied research and experiments. They will receive three Russian resupply Progress spacecraft and a European ATV space vehicle. Besides, Samokutyayev and Maksim Surayev are to make a spacewalk.

© Copyright 2014 ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved.

Russia Launches First Female Cosmonaut to ISS In 17 Years
Yelena Serova, was launched into Earth orbit on Thursday night aboard Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft
© Elena Serova
00:40 26/09/2014

BAIKONUR (KAZAKHSTAN), September 26 (RIA Novosti) — A female Russian cosmonaut, Yelena Serova, was launched into Earth orbit overnight aboard Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft, ending spaceflight's 17-year male "hegemony," a RIA Novosti correspondent reported Friday from the launching ground.
The crew also includes another Russian cosmonaut, Alexander Samokutyayev, and NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore.
Soyuz TMA-14M's flight to the International Space Station atop Soyuz-FG orbital carrier rocket has been the 123rd since 1967. The Soyuz is expected to remain on board the station as an emergency escape vehicle.
The rocket blasted off from a launching pad at the Gagarin Start launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Yelena Serova is the fourth female cosmonaut from Russia to ever fly in space, the first being USSR's Valentina Tereshkova who made history in 1963 as the first woman ever to go into space on a sole flight. Tereshkova was followed by Svetlana Savitskaya who circled the Earth orbit twice, in 1982 and 1984. Yelena Kondakova was the third to be put into orbit in 1994 and 1997.
A total of 57 women have flown to space so far. Four of them – US astronauts Judith Resnik, Laurel Blair Salton Clark, Kalpana Chawla and Christa McAuliffe – died during their missions when the space shuttles they were manning exploded in midair.

One of Soyuz TMA-14M's Solar Panels Fails to Unfold After Rocket Blasts Off for ISS
One of the two solar panels on Russia's Soyuz TMA-14M manned spacecraft has so far been unable to unfold
© RIA Novosti. Konstantin Chalabov
02:21 26/09/2014

Updated 02:48 a.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, September 26 (RIA Novosti) - One of the two solar panels aboard Russia's manned Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft has so far been unable to unfold, a source in the mission control center of the Russian Federal Space Agency told RIA Novosti early Friday.
"According to our data, one of the solar panels is still unable to unfold for reasons unknown. But preliminary data suggest that it will not impede [the spacecraft] from docking to the ISS. They have carried out a maneuver just now which involved all of the spacecraft's engines, all systems are running smoothly, the crew is OK," the source in the agency said.
The Soyuz-FG orbital carrier rocket blasted off earlier in the day from a launching pad at the Gagarin Start launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
It is carrying an international crew that consists of Yelena Serova, Russia's first female cosmonaut in 17 years, as well as her fellow cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyayev and NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore.
Yelena Serova is the fourth female cosmonaut from Russia to ever fly in space, the first being USSR's Valentina Tereshkova who made history in 1963 as the first woman ever to go into space on a sole flight. Serova's flight has effectively ended spaceflight's 17-year male "hegemony."
Soyuz TMA-14M's mission to the International Space Station will be the 123rd since 1967. It was reported earlier that the Soyuz spacecraft had successfully separated from the carrier rocket's third stage.
It is due to reach the ISS about six hours after the launch. The docking will automatically begin at 6:15 a.m. local time (02:15 GMT).

© 2014 RIA Novosti

Soyuz ferry craft blasts off with three bound for space station
Editor's note...
Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 09/25/14: Crew of three, including first female station cosmonaut, set for afternoon launch
Updated at 04:45 PM ET, 09/25/14: Soyuz TMA-14M takes off with crew of three bound for station (11grafld-pickup7thgraf: Married to X X X)
Updated at 05:15 PM ET, 09/25/14: One Soyuz solar array fails to deploy; no impact for station rendezvous (7grafld-pickup5thgraf: "It looked like X X X)
By WILLIAM HARWOOD
CBS News

An experienced Russian cosmonaut, a NASA shuttle veteran and the first female cosmonaut to be assigned to the International Space Station blasted off Thursday aboard a Soyuz ferry craft, kicking off a six-hour flight to the orbiting lab complex. One of two solar arrays failed to initially deploy, but officials said the spacecraft had plenty of battery power for the planned four-orbit rendezvous.

With Soyuz TMA-14M commander Alexander Samokutyaev at the controls, flanked on the left by board engineer Elena Serova and on the right by Barry "Butch" Wilmore, the Soyuz rocket thundered to life at 4:25 p.m. EDT (GMT-4; 2:25 a.m. Friday local time), lighting up the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as it climbed away.
The Soyuz TMA-14M rocket climbs away from its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying a NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts to the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA TV)

Launching directly into the plane of the space station's orbit, the iconic Russian rocket soared away through a cloudy, deep overnight sky, putting on a dramatic show for family members, spaceport workers and agency managers as it accelerated toward space through low clouds.

The ascent went smoothly and all three crew members appeared relaxed in live video downlinked from the Soyuz. Eight minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff, the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft separated from the rocket's upper stage into an orbit with a low point of 118 miles and a high point of around 143 miles, trailing the space station by about 2,311 miles.

But only one of the spacecraft's two solar panels deployd as planned.

"There's a problem with the port array," said a NASA official at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "It's no mission impact as long as they stay on a four-orbit rendezvous. They have plenty of battery power for rendezvous and docking."

He said engineers were optimistic the panel would "shake" free with rendezvous rocket firings and with orbital temperature swings.

"It looked like a good ride, we got to see about the first 30 seconds then we lost the Soyuz behind the Dragon (cargo ship)," astronaut Reid Wiseman radioed from the space station. "So we were happy to be watching NASA TV and see these guys safely in orbit. We'll have dinner waiting for them."

If all goes well, Samokutyaev and Serova will oversee an automated sequence of rocket firings to catch up with the space station in its roughly circular 260-mile-high orbit, moving in for docking at the upper Poisk module around 10:15 p.m. Standing by to welcome them aboard will be Wiseman, Expedition 41 commander Maxim Suraev and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst.

Suraev, Gerst and Wiseman have had the station to themselves since Sept. 10 when outgoing commander Steven Swanson, Soyuz commander Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev returned to Earth aboard the TMA-12M ferry craft.

Samokutyaev is a veteran of a previous station flight, logging 164 days in space in 2011. Wilmore has a shuttle flight to his credit, serving as pilot of the Atlantis for an 11-day station visit in 2009. Serova, the fourth female cosmonaut and the first to visit the space station, is making her first flight.

"There were a number of women on the ISS before me, but I will be the first Russian woman cosmonaut," she said in a NASA interview. "I never thought about it too much because space is what I do for work, and that's what I think about it: it's my work. But obviously for Russian women it might be a breakthrough in this area."

Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first Russian woman in space, launched in June 1963. Svetlana Savitskaya was the second, flying in 1982 and again in 1984. Elena Kondakova was the most recent, flying in 1994 on a Soyuz spacecraft and again in 1997 aboard the space shuttle. Forty-five U.S. women have flown in space, along with nine from other nations.

Married to an aerospace engineer and the mother of an 11-year-old child, Serova is firmly focused on the job at hand, dismissing questions about the greater significance of her mission.
Soyuz TMA-14M commander Alexander Samokutyaev, left, and flight engineer Elena Serova, right, monitor cockpit displays during the climb to orbit Thursday. Astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore is out of view to the left. (Credit: NASA TV)

"There have been quite a few female astronauts before me and I don't see my flying as such an outstanding event," said said in a later interview. "Each of us is first and foremost governed by his or her primary tasks aboard the station. So, I would say this is a regular and nominal occurrence. Nothing special."

But like anyone preparing for a space flight, she later admitted "I'm excited and I'm anxious."

"We've been studying for a long time, studying the vehicle, reading the manuals, and now we'll be on our own," she said through a translator. "I think our crew is ready."

Samokutyaev, married and a father of one, said he was pleased with Serova's progress, calling her "my pupil" and adding that "she achieved more than I could hope for."

In an interview with CBS News, he said he welcomed the presence of women in orbit, adding a somewhat less-than-liberated take on roles and responsibilities.

"When I entered (the space) station for the first time I was met by a woman, (NASA astronaut) Catherine Coleman, and for all of us who were new to spaceflight, she was like a mother to us," he said. "We are happy that a Russian woman is going to be flying on ISS, only the fourth woman cosmonaut and the first Russian woman on ISS.

"Of course, we are trying to distribute our duties on board and Elena promised that the cuisine will be delicious! Also, she promised the Russian segment would be very comfortable and cozy, like home."

But Serova is nothing but serious about her role. At a pre-flight news conference, a reporter asked her to talk "more about your, maybe, everyday life on the station, how you see it? For example, your hair, how are you planning to do your hair?"

"I have a question for you," Serova replied. "Why don't you ask the question about Alexander's hair? I'm sorry, this is my answer."

The Soyuz TMA-14M flight comes during a time of increased tension between Russia and the United States in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea and the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Despite U.S. sanctions and an escalating war of words at the diplomatic level, Wilmore said there was no stress among space workers.

He praised his Russian trainers and said everyone had gone out of their way to make him feel welcome.

"From day one, if I didn't watch the news or listen to the news, I would have no idea that there were any political tensions at all with respect to what I've done here," he said in an interview from Moscow. "It's been no different at all. Our instructors here in Russia are very passionate about what they do and ensuring that we are well trained and prepared for our mission, and there's been no change in any of that. They have been wonderful.

"My crewmates, it has not been an issue," he said. "As far as the hierarchy at NASA, Roscosmos and Energia, there's been nothing that I'm aware of that trickled down to my level at all. Like I said, if I didn't know there were some political tensions I would have no idea. It's been wonderful, it's been great."

It's also been a challenge. A veteran Navy fighter pilot with more than 6,800 hours flying time, 663 carrier landings and a shuttle mission to his credit, Wilmore said learning Russian was the most difficult aspect of flying on a Soyuz.

"When I was in high school and college, I never had to learn a foreign language," he said. "But when I got assigned to this mission, understanding at least some portion of Russian was a requirement. So the hardest thing that I've done is learning Russian, by far. There are certain challenges involved with learning a new vehicle, but learning the language is difficult, and it's tough. I'm still learning."

The Expedition 41 crew faces a particularly busy few weeks in orbit, staging three spacewalks in October, unloading and repacking a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship and taking delivery of an Orbital Sciences cargo craft and a Russian Progress supply ship.

Two NASA spacewalks are planned to move a failed ammonia pump module to a long-term storage location on the station's solar power truss and to replace a device called a sequential shunt unit that will restore one of the station's eight power channels to normal operation.
ï¿¼
The pump storage spacewalk, by Wiseman and Gerst, is planned for Oct. 7 while the SSU swap out, by Wiseman and Wilmore, is targeted for Oct. 15. Suraev and Samokutyaev plan to venture outside on Oct. 22 to replace materials science experiments and to carry out routine maintenance.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo ship, launched early Sunday morning, is the fourth operational flight under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA that calls for 12 missions to deliver some 44,000 pounds of cargo. The latest Dragon reached the space station Tuesday, approaching from directly below and then holding position while Gerst, operating the station's robot arm, locked onto a grapple fixture so the capsule could be pulled in for berthing at the Earth-facing port of the forward Harmony module.

The spacecraft was loaded with some 2.5 tons of equipment and supplies, including an experimental 3D printer, 20 research mice, an instrument o measure ocean wind speeds and a wide variety of other items, including a month's supply of food, fresh clothing and spare parts.

After unloading the supply ship, the station crew will repack it with some 3,400 pounds of cargo, experiment samples and other components for return to Earth. Unberthing and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean is planned for Oct. 18. Two days later, the Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo ship, the company's third mission under a $1.9 billion resupply contract, is scheduled for launch from Wallops Island, Va., carrying another load of supplies and equipment.

The Progress M-25M supply ship — the 57th launched to the station -- is scheduled for takeoff from Baikonur Oct. 29. After that, the combined crew will enjoy several weeks of uninterrupted scientific research and maintenance before Suraev, Gerst and Wiseman depart aboard the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft on Nov. 10, closing out a 165-day mission.

Their replacements -- Soyuz TMA-15M commander Alexander Shkaplerov, NASA astronaut Terry Virts and ESA flier Samantha Cristoforetti -- are scheduled for launch Nov. 23. Wilmore, Samokutyaev and Serova are expected to spend 167 days in orbit, returning to Earth March 12 next year.

Asked how his family would cope with the long absence, Wilmore said his wife, Deanna, and his two daughters, 7 and 10, were well prepared. NASA has even loaned an iPad to the family for weekly video conferences from orbit.

"My wife, Deanna, is a wonderful mother, a wonderful wife and she teaches our daughters, we home school our daughters and she spends a great deal of time with them and she's helped me prepare them for this entire two-and-a-half year training flow," he said. "It hasn't been that painful. There's a lot of people around our nation, around the globe, that the father's job takes them away from their families. And this one's no different.

"The opportunity to do these things, to have the opportunity to work on the International Space Station is something that's very intriguing for me and I'm trying to give the girls a little bit of that as well, to help them understand the importance of it all. And I think they do."

© 2014 William Harwood/CBS News

New US-Russian Crew Launches to International Space Station
By Mike Wall, Senior Writer | September 25, 2014 04:45pm ET

A Russian Soyuz rocket launches three new crewmembers for the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early on Friday, Sept. 26, 2014 local time. Riding on the Soyuz were NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova.
Credit: NASA TV View full size image
An American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts have blasted off on a history-making trek to the International Space Station, where they will spend nearly six months working in orbit.
Russian cosmonaut Elena Serova (top), NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore (center) and Soyuz commander Alexander Samokutyaev wave farewell as they prepare to board their Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft for an early morning launch to the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on Sept. 26, 2014 (afternoon on Sept. 25 U.S. Eastern Time).
Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
View full size image
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore and cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova launched into space from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome on Thursday (Sept. 25) at 4:25 p.m. EDT (2025 GMT; 2:25 a.m. Friday local Kazakhstan time). Serova is just the fourth Russian woman to fly in space, and she'll become the space station's first-ever female cosmonaut when the Soyuz arrives late Thursday night.
"I think I feel the same thing as all other crewmembers: It's a huge responsibility; we are excited," Serova said through a translator during a prelaunch press briefing from Baikonur. [Women in Space: A Gallery of Firsts]
"We would like to say a special thank you to all people who supported us, who trained us, who built our rocket," she added. "We will do our best."
The Soyuz is scheduled to reach the International Space Station about six hours after liftoff. You can watch a live webcast of the capsule's arrival on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV. The docking webcast will begin at 9:45 p.m. EDT (0145 GMT). Another webcast at 11:30 p.m. EDT (0330 GMT) will show the Soyuz crewmembers entering their new orbital home.
Wilmore, Samokutyaev and Serova will join the space station's Expedition 41, which currently consists of NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev. This latter trio will return to Earth in November, while Wilmore, Samokutyaev and Serova will remain in orbit until March 2015.
Wiseman radioed NASA's Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston shortly after the Soyuz launch to say he and his crewmates were able to watch a video feed live.
"That looked like a good ride," Wiseman said. "We look forward to seeing them in orbit, and we'll have dinner ready waiting for them."
Serova, 38, is the first Russian woman to leave Earth since Elena Kodakova visited Russia's Mir space station on a space shuttle mission in 1997. The other two female cosmonauts were Svetlana Savitskaya, who flew on space missions in 1982 and 1984, and Valentina Tereshkova, who in 1963 became the first woman to reach space.
An American woman didn't get to orbit until Sally Ride flew on the STS-7 space shuttle mission in 1983. But a number of female NASA astronauts have lived and worked aboard the International Space Station. Peggy Whitson, for example, became the first woman to command a space station mission when she took the reins of Expedition 16 in 2007.
While Serova is a spaceflight rookie, today's launch marks the second space mission for both Wilmore and Samokutyaev.
Russia's Soyuz spacecraft and rockets are currently NASA's only way to launch American astronauts into space since the retirement of the U.S. space shuttle fleet in 2011. Last week, NASA announced that it will fly astronauts to the International Space Station on new private space taxis built by the commercial spaceflight companies SpaceX and Boeing beginning in 2017.
Construction of the $100 billion orbiting outpost began in 1998, and it has been staffed continuously by rotating crews on roughly six-month stints since November 2000.

Copyright © 2014 TechMediaNetwork.com All rights reserved.