Monthly Archives: May 2013

A Soyuz capsule carrying three new crew members successfully docked with the International Space Station on Wednesday, welcoming NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg and two crewmates from Russia and Italy.

By Miriam Kramer Space.com

Three astronauts from Russia, the United States and Italy have become the newest residents of the International Space Station after a record-setting trip.

Five hours and 40 minutes after asuccessful Soyuz rocket launchfrom the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, NASA's Karen Nyberg and Italy's Luca Parmitano docked their Soyuz spacecraft at the orbiting laboratory at 10:10 p.m. ET Tuesday. The new crew will remain on the space station for the next six months.

"I've never felt better in my life," Yurchikhin said just after the Soyuz docked at the station while sailing high above the South Pacific.[See Photos from the Launch and Docking]

Fast track to spaceTuesday's same-day launch and docking was the second express flight to the International Space Station by an astronaut crew.

Unmanned cargo vessels have made this kind of trip several times before, but the one-day missions are a relatively new method of flying for manned Soyuz capsules. Typically, it takes astronauts about two days to reach the space station. The fast-track itinerary calls for the capsule to orbit the Earth only four times, shortening the amount of time the astronauts need to spend in the cramped spaceship.

Watch a Russian Soyuz rocket lift off from Kazakhstan, carrying a U.S.-Italian-Russian crew to the International Space Station.

The first Soyuz crew to fly to the station using this expedited technique were waiting to greet Nyberg, Parmitano and Yurchikhin after the opening of the capsule's hatch. The three newest space station residents will join NASA's Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin and Pavel Vinogradov to round out the Expedition 36 crew.

"[Your trip was] even faster than Pavel," a Russian mission controller joked with Yurchikhin after docking. The Russian Soyuz commander beat Vinogradov's time to the station by six minutes.

Continued here:
Multinational trio makes a run to the space station in record time

A Soyuz capsule carrying three new crew members successfully docked with the International Space Station on Wednesday, welcoming NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg and two crewmates from Russia and Italy.

By Miriam Kramer Space.com

Three astronauts from Russia, the United States and Italy have become the newest residents of the International Space Station after a record-setting trip.

Five hours and 40 minutes after asuccessful Soyuz rocket launchfrom the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, NASA's Karen Nyberg and Italy's Luca Parmitano docked their Soyuz spacecraft at the orbiting laboratory at 10:10 p.m. ET Tuesday. The new crew will remain on the space station for the next six months.

"I've never felt better in my life," Yurchikhin said just after the Soyuz docked at the station while sailing high above the South Pacific.[See Photos from the Launch and Docking]

Fast track to spaceTuesday's same-day launch and docking was the second express flight to the International Space Station by an astronaut crew.

Unmanned cargo vessels have made this kind of trip several times before, but the one-day missions are a relatively new method of flying for manned Soyuz capsules. Typically, it takes astronauts about two days to reach the space station. The fast-track itinerary calls for the capsule to orbit the Earth only four times, shortening the amount of time the astronauts need to spend in the cramped spaceship.

Watch a Russian Soyuz rocket lift off from Kazakhstan, carrying a U.S.-Italian-Russian crew to the International Space Station.

The first Soyuz crew to fly to the station using this expedited technique were waiting to greet Nyberg, Parmitano and Yurchikhin after the opening of the capsule's hatch. The three newest space station residents will join NASA's Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin and Pavel Vinogradov to round out the Expedition 36 crew.

"[Your trip was] even faster than Pavel," a Russian mission controller joked with Yurchikhin after docking. The Russian Soyuz commander beat Vinogradov's time to the station by six minutes.

Original post:
Multinational trio makes the journey to space station in record time

A Soyuz capsule carrying three new crew members successfully docked with the International Space Station on Wednesday, welcoming NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg and two crewmates from Russia and Italy.

By Miriam Kramer Space.com

Three astronauts from Russia, the United States and Italy have become the newest residents of the International Space Station after a record-setting trip.

Five hours and 40 minutes after asuccessful Soyuz rocket launchfrom the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, NASA's Karen Nyberg and Italy's Luca Parmitano docked their Soyuz spacecraft at the orbiting laboratory at 10:10 p.m. ET Tuesday. The new crew will remain on the space station for the next six months.

"I've never felt better in my life," Yurchikhin said just after the Soyuz docked at the station while sailing high above the South Pacific.[See Photos from the Launch and Docking]

Fast track to spaceTuesday's same-day launch and docking was the second express flight to the International Space Station by an astronaut crew.

Unmanned cargo vessels have made this kind of trip several times before, but the one-day missions are a relatively new method of flying for manned Soyuz capsules. Typically, it takes astronauts about two days to reach the space station. The fast-track itinerary calls for the capsule to orbit the Earth only four times, shortening the amount of time the astronauts need to spend in the cramped spaceship.

Watch a Russian Soyuz rocket lift off from Kazakhstan, carrying a U.S.-Italian-Russian crew to the International Space Station.

The first Soyuz crew to fly to the station using this expedited technique were waiting to greet Nyberg, Parmitano and Yurchikhin after the opening of the capsule's hatch. The three newest space station residents will join NASA's Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin and Pavel Vinogradov to round out the Expedition 36 crew.

"[Your trip was] even faster than Pavel," a Russian mission controller joked with Yurchikhin after docking. The Russian Soyuz commander beat Vinogradov's time to the station by six minutes.

Continue reading here:
US, Italian and Russian spacefliers begin quick trip to space station

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A Russian spaceship took a shortcut to the International Space Station on Tuesday, delivering a veteran cosmonaut, a rookie Italian astronaut and an American mother on her second flight to the outpost in less than six hours.

The capsule slipped into its berthing port at 10:10 p.m. EDT about 250 miles above the south Pacific Ocean.

"Everything went very well," NASA mission commentator Kelly Humphries said during a televised broadcast of the docking.

Typically, the journey takes two days, but Russian engineers have developed new flight procedures that tweak the steering maneuvers and expedite the trip.

One other crew capsule and several cargo ships previously have taken the fast route to the station.

The express ride to the station began at 4:31 p.m. EDT when a Russian Soyuz rocket soared off its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and deposited the crew's capsule into orbit. The spaceship circled around the planet less than four times before catching up to the station, a $100 billion project of 15 nations.

Overseeing operations from aboard the capsule was veteran cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, 54, who will be living aboard the station for the third time. The former commander also flew on NASA's now-retired space shuttle.

He was joined on the Soyuz by first-time astronaut Luca Parmitano, 36, a major in the Italian Air Force. Parmitano, who initially studied political science and international law at the University of Naples, is the first Italian to be assigned to a long-duration mission aboard the station, which is a laboratory for biomedical, materials science and other research.

"This is very momentous," Parmitano said in a preflight NASA interview.

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International crew takes short cut to space station

MOSCOW (AP) A Soyuz capsule carrying an American, Russian and Italian successfully docked Wednesday with the International Space Station, where the new crew will spend six months conducting a variety of experiments.

The docking took place at 8:10 a.m. (0210 GMT, 10:10 p.m. EDT) less than six hours after the Russian spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which Russia leases in Kazakhstan.

Live footage provided by NASA TV showed it soaring into the clear night sky. About four minutes later, the announcer said the Soyuz was traveling at 4,700 miles per hour (about 7,500 kilometers per hour).

The cramped capsule carrying NASA's Karen Nyberg, Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and Italy's Luca Parmitano orbited the Earth four times before docking with the space station.

After docking, two hours passed before pressure equalized between the capsule and the station, allowing safe entry.

The three new arrivals were greeted by NASA's Chris Cassidy and Russians Alexander Misurkin and the station's commander Pavel Vinogradov, who have been aboard the space station since late March.

"It was a pretty cool ride," Nyberg said upon arrival.

Cassidy had shaved his head clean to match Parmitano's look and got a thumbs-up from the Italian.

Yurchikhin, 54, is a veteran of three previous spaceflights, while the 36-year-old Parmitano, a former test pilot, is making his first trip into space. Nyberg, 43, spent two weeks in space in 2008 as part of a U.S. space shuttle crew.

Shortly after their arrival, the incoming team spoke via video link with their relatives and officials back in Baikonur. Parmitano's mother wept throughout the chat with her son.

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Soyuz capsule docks with space station

An international trio of astronauts has just become the newest residents of a space station in orbit after a record-setting trip.

Five hours and 40 minutes after a successful Soyuz rocket launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan earlier today (May 28), Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, NASA's Karen Nyberg and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency docked their Soyuz spacecraft at the International Space Station at 10:10 p.m. EDT (0210 May 29 GMT).

The new crew will remain on the space station for the next six months.

VIDEO: What Space Does to the Human Body

"I've never felt better in my life," Yurchikhin said just after the Soyuz docked at the station in record time while sailing high above the South Pacific.

Fast Track to Space

Monday's same-day launch and docking was the second express flight to the International Space Station by an astronaut crew.

Unmanned cargo vessels have made this kind of trip many times before, but the one-day missions are a new method of flying for manned Soyuz capsules. Typically, it takes astronauts about two days to reach the space station, but this kind of flying only requires the capsule to orbit the Earth four times, shortening the amount of time the astronauts need to spend in the cramped spaceship.

PHOTOS: An Awe-Inspiring Space Station Odyssey

The first Soyuz crew to fly to the station using this expedited technique greeted Nyberg, Parmitano and Yurchikhin once the capsule's hatch was opened last night. The three newest space station residents join NASA's Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin and Pavel Vinogradov to round out the Expedition 36 crew.

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New Space Station Crew Arrive in Record Time

An international trio of astronauts has just become the newest residents of a space station in orbit after a record-setting trip.

Five hours and 40 minutes after a successful Soyuz rocket launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan earlier today (May 28), Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, NASA's Karen Nyberg and Luca Parmitano of the International Space Stationdocked their Soyuz spacecraft at the orbiting laboratory at 10:10 p.m. EDT (0210 May 29 GMT). The new crew will remain on the space station for the next six months.

"I've never felt better in my life," Yurchikhin said just after the Soyuz docked at the station in record time while sailing high above the South Pacific.[See Photos from the Launch and Docking]

You can watch live coverage of the hatch opening on SPACE.com via NASA TV starting at 11:30 p.m. EDT (0330 May 29 GMT), with hatch opening scheduled for 11:55 p.m. EDT (0355 May 29 GMT).

Fast track to space

Monday's same-day launch and docking was the second express flight to the International Space Station by an astronaut crew.

Unmanned cargo vessels have made this kind of trip many times before, but the one-day missions are a new method of flying for manned Soyuz capsules. Typically, it takes astronauts about two days to reach the space station, but this kind of flying only requires the capsule to orbit the Earth four times, shortening the amount of time the astronauts need to spend in the cramped spaceship.

The first Soyuz crew to fly to the station using this expedited technique will greet Nyberg, Parmitano and Yurchikhin once the capsule's hatch is opened tonight. The three newest space station residents will join NASA's Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin and Pavel Vinogradov to round out the Expedition 36 crew.

"[Your trip was] even faster than Pavel," a member of Mission Control in Russia joked with Yurchikhin after docking. The Russian Soyuz commander beat Vinogradov's time to the station by six minutes.

A special group

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International Astronaut Crew Arrives at Space Station in Record Time

A Russian rocket carrying a trio of astronauts is on its way to the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin successfully launched aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan toward the orbiting outpost today (May 28) at 4:31 p.m. EDT (2031 GMT). The local time was early Wednesday.

The three newest space station crewmembers are expected to arrive just six hours after launch, in the second ever one-day manned trip to the International Space Station. [See Photos of the Express Launch ]

"Soyuz blazing into the night sky over Kazakhstan," NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said upon launch.

Yurchikhin, the commander of the Soyuz, chose a toy dog as the crew's mascot. The cosmonaut got the stuffed animal as a gift 30 years ago, and he brought it with him to space in 2010 as well. The Soyuz commander also brought toys given to him by his daughters into the capsule.

Speedy trip

The Soyuz crew is scheduled to arrive at the station's Rassvet module at 10:17 p.m. EDT (0217 May 29 GMT). You can watch live coverage of the docking on SPACE.com starting at 9:30 p.m. EDT (0130 May 29 GMT).

It usually takes about two days for a manned Soyuz spacecraft to reach the International Space Station, but this time, the astronauts will make only four orbits of the Earth before docking.

Although many unmanned cargo ships do these kinds of expedited docking procedures regularly, only one other Soyuz crew has flown to the space station using this method.

NASA's Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin the three astronauts currently living and working on the space station were the first crew to do the one-day launch and docking when they blasted off to the station in March.

Continued here:
Astronauts Launch to Space Station on Express Trip