Fwd: Soyuz TMA-16M has delivered a crew of participants in a one-year mission to the ISS

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Subject: FW: Soyuz TMA-16M has delivered a crew of participants in a one-year mission to the ISS

           

 

 

The launch of manned spacecraft "Soyuz TMA-16M"

03/27/2015 22:51

Today, March 27, at 22 hours 42 minutes Moscow time from the launch pad 1 ("Gagarin's Start") Baikonur Cosmodrome successfully launched a space rocket "Soyuz-FG", dedicated to the orbit of manned spacecraft (TPC) " Soyuz TMA-16M. "

Through 528 seconds of flight manned spacecraft "Soyuz TMA-16M" cleanly separated from the third stage of the launch vehicle on the calculated orbit. Crew consisting of commander, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka ROSCOSMOS, flight engineers - Mikhail Kornienko (Roscosmos) and Scott Kelly (NASA) feels good.

Joining TPK "Soyuz TMA-16M" with the International Space Station is scheduled for 4:36 MSK March 28.

Press Service of the Russian Federal Space Agency

 

 

 

 

Manned spacecraft "Soyuz TMA-16M" successfully docked to the ISS

03.28.2015 4:37

Today, March 28, at 04:33 MSK successfully carried out docking of manned spacecraft (TPC) "Soyuz TMA-16M" with the International Space Station.

Manned spacecraft "Soyuz TMA-16M" landed on a small research module "Search" the Russian segment of the ISS. Convergence process was carried out in an automatic mode under the control of the Mission Control Center specialists and crew of the spaceship - commander Gennady Padalka, flight engineer Mikhail Kornienko (Roscosmos) and Scott Kelly (NASA). On board the ISS docking controlled cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov ROSCOSMOS.

After the opening of the transfer hatches between the spacecraft and the station at 06:15 MSK, the ISS crew will start 43/44 minutes long expedition as part of Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Kornienko, Anton SHKAPLEROVA, NASA astronauts VERTSA Terry and Scott Kelly, as well as ESA astronaut Samantha KRISTOFORETTI.

According to the International Space Station during your stay ISS-43/44 are scheduled with 4 cargo spacecraft "Progress M-25M", "Progress M-26M", "Progress M-27M" and "Progress M-28M "cargo ship and a Japanese NTV-5« Kounotori »; preparation for return to Earth of three members of the crew of the ISS-42/43 at TPK "Soyuz TMA-15M"; participation in operations management docking TPK "Soyuz TMA-17M" with the ISS to a small research module "Dawn"; permutation of "Soyuz TMA-16M" with the module "Zvezda" service module on the service module "Zvezda"; docking of the WPK "Soyuz TMA-18M" with the ISS, as well as on June 2015 is scheduled spacewalk on the Russian program, which will carry cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka.

In addition, the work plan includes an extensive program of scientific and applied research and experiments in various fields, such as space biotechnology, biomedical research, remote sensing of the Earth and others. In total, within the "annual" flight planned to implement 688 sessions of 72 experiments. Studies on the 54 experiments were started in the previous expeditions, 12 are new. Also, the flight program includes activities to support health stations and equipping the ISS equipment delivered by cargo ships.

The planned duration of the flight cosmonaut Gennady Padalka as part of ISS-43/44 is 168 days. Thus Gennady Ivanovich will be a new record for total stay in space (878 days).

Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly will hold a part of ISS-43/44 and ISS-45/46 342 days.

Press Service of the Russian Federal Space Agency

 

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Soyuz TMA-16M has delivered a crew of participants in a one-year mission to the ISS
March 28, 2015

Manned transportation spacecraft Soyuz TMA-16M carrying an international crew consisting of Roscosmos cosmonauts GennadyPadalka, Mikhail Kornienko and the NASA astronaut Scott Kelly has successfully docked with the International Space Station.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soyuz TMA-16M has delivered a crew of participants in a one-year mission to the ISS

March 28, 2015

Manned transportation spacecraft Soyuz TMA-16M carrying an international crew consisting of Roscosmos cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Kornienko and the NASA astronaut Scott Kelly has successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS).

Launch vehicle Soyuz FG with manned spacecraft Soyuz TMA-16M was launched from the Baikonur launch site on March 27 at 22:42 Moscow Time. After performing a rendezvous with the ISS using a quick 4-orbit profile, on March 28 at 04:34 Moscow Time the spacecraft docked with the Mini Research Module Poisk. About two hours after the docking, the transfer hatches opened and the spacecraft crew met with Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, Terry Virts of US and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy who are currently staying onboard the station.

The Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and the US astronaut Scott Kelly will work in orbit for one year - from March 27, 2015 through March 3, 2016. During that time they are to conduct many scientific, engineering, medical, astrophysical, and other experiments, the results of which are to bring humanity one step closer to deep-space manned missions.

In particular, within the framework of an extensive science program, M. Kornienko is to perform 14 Russian experiments dedicated to space medicine and physiology. These are experiments "Algometry", "Vzaimodeistvie-2", "DAN", "Cardiovector", "Content", "Correction", "MORZE", "Motocard", "Neuroimmunity", "Parodont-2", "Movement of fluids", "Pilot-T", "Splankh" and "UDOD". Specifically, the "Movement of fluids" experiment belongs to joint studies of Russian and US scientists and will be carried out by the two participants in the one-year mission using scientific equipment on the Russian and US segments of the ISS.

The Russian cosmonaut also gave his consent to participate in five US experiments: "Fine Motor Skills", "Ocular Health", "Reaction Self-Test", "Sleep Monitoring", "Cognition". In his turn, the US astronaut Scott Kelly consented to participate in two Russian experiments "Pilot-T" and "Vzaimodeistvie-2".

The mission of M.Kornienko and S.Kelly will be accompanied by a large number of dynamic operations. They are to take part in operations with cargo and manned spacecraft which are slated to be launched to the ISS within the next year. These include Russian cargo spacecraft Progress and manned spacecraft Soyuz, the US cargo spacecraft Dragon SpaceX, the Japanese cargo spacecraft HTV. Scheduled for July 2015 is a spacewalk under the program of the ISS Russian Segment, in the course of which Mikhail Kornienko together with Gennadi Padalka are going to try out a new technology for cleaning the panes of the station windows using special equipment. Scheduled for August 24 is a special operation to relocate one of the Soyuz spacecraft from one docking port to another.

The manned transportation spacecraft of the new series Soyuz TMA-M developed and built by RSC Energia is an upgraded version of the Soyuz TMA spacecraft. It is equipped with new devices for the motion control and navigation system and an improved onboard measurement system. All the devices are built around state-of-the-art electronic components and run the latest software. The upgrade made it possible to reduce the mass of the onboard equipment and thus enhance the capability to deliver payload to orbit.

The spacecraft is designed to deliver the crews of up to three and their accompanying cargoes to the International Space Station (ISS), as well as to return them to Earth. When attached to the ISS, Soyuz TMA-M serves as a crew rescue vehicle and is kept permanently ready for emergency crew return to Earth. This might be required in case of an emergency onboard the station, illness or injury of a crewmember.

 

JSC RSC Energia: the leader in the rocket and space industry, and the prime contractor for manned space systems. The Corporation conducts work on the development of unmanned space and rocket systems (launch vehicles and orbital transfer vehicles), and high-technology systems for various non-space applications. Since August 2014, the Corporation is headed by Vladimir Lvovich Solntsev.

 

 

RSC Energia press-center  

© 2000 - 2015  S.P. Korolev RSC "Energia"

 

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March 27, 2015

RELEASE 15-053

 

Year in Space Starts for One American and One Russian

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 3:42 p.m. EDT Friday (1:42 a.m., March 28 in Baikonur).

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will spend about a year living and working aboard the space station to help scientists better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to the harsh environment of space.[image-51]

"Scott Kelly's mission is critical to advancing the administration's plan to send humans on a journey to Mars," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "We'll gain new, detailed insights on the ways long-duration spaceflight affects the human body."

Launching with Kelly and Kornienko was cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who will spend a standard six-month rotation on the station. The trio is scheduled to dock with the station at 9:36 p.m., about six hours after launch. NASA Television coverage of docking will begin at 8:45 p.m. Hatches are scheduled to open at about 11:15 p.m., with coverage starting at 10:45 p.m. [image-94]

The arrival of Kelly, Kornienko and Padalka returns the station's crew complement to six. The three will join Expedition 43 commander Terry Virts of NASA, as well as flight engineers Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) and Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, who have been aboard the complex since November. [image-80]

Virts, Cristoforetti and Shkaplerov will return home in May. At that time, Padalka will take command of Expedition 44, becoming the first person to command four station crews. Padalka will return in September, while Kelly and Kornienko will remain aboard until March 2016.

The one-year mission will focus on seven key areas of human research. Functional studies will examine crew member performance during and after the 12-month expedition. Behavioral studies will monitor sleep patterns and exercise routines. Visual impairment will be studied by measuring changes in pressure inside the human skull. Metabolic investigations will examine the immune system and effects of stress.

Physical performance will be monitored through exercise examinations. Microbial changes in the crew will be monitored, as well as the human factors associated with how the crew interacts aboard the station. Each of these key elements carries a potential benefit for populations here on Earth, from functional improvements for patients recovering from a long period of bed rest to improving the monitoring of immune functions of people on Earth with altered immunity.

Data from Kelly and Kornienko's 342-day expedition will be used to determine whether there are ways to further reduce the risks on future long-duration missions necessary for deep space missions.

In tandem with the one-year mission, Kelly's identical twin brother, former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, will participate in a number of comparative genetic studies, including the collection of blood samples as well as psychological and physical tests. This research will compare data from the genetically identical Kelly brothers to identify any subtle changes caused by spaceflight.

The tests will track any degeneration or evolution that occurs in the human body from extended exposure to a microgravity environment. These new twin studies are a multi-faceted national cooperation between universities, corporations and government laboratory expertise.

Expedition 43 will perform scientific research in several other fields, such as astrophysics and biotechnology. Among the planned experiments are a study of meteors entering Earth's atmosphere and testing of a new synthetic material that can expand and contract like human muscle tissue. The crew members also are scheduled to greet a host of cargo spacecraft during their mission, including the sixth SpaceX commercial resupply flight and a Russian Progress resupply mission. Each flight will carry several tons of food, fuel, supplies and research. No spacewalks are planned during Expedition 43.

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and makes research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The space station has been continuously occupied since November 2000. In this 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 giant leap in exploration.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:

/nasatv

For more information about this mission to the space station, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/1ee6ju6

For more information about the research on this mission, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/1HPhPpz

To follow activities on orbit, visit the space station Facebook page at:

 http://www.facebook.com/ISS

Follow the crew members and the station on Twitter at:

http://www.twitter.com/nasa_astronauts

and

http://www.twitter.com/Space_Station

Follow Kelly and the station on Instagram at:

https://instagram.com/iss/

and

https://instagram.com/stationcdrkelly/

-end-

Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov

Dan Huot
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
daniel.g.huot@nasa.gov

 

 

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Russian & American Set for Space Record, While Governments Quarrel on Earth

© AP Photo/ Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center via NASA

News

21:11 27.03.2015(updated 07:20 28.03.2015) Get short URL

1679103

 

While their governments remain locked in a standoff over Ukraine hundreds of miles below on Earth, American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts are still working together side by side at the International Space Station. On Friday, one American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts launched from Kazakhstan to the International Space Station.

 

Despite clashing over the Ukraine crisis, the United States and Russia continue to cooperate when it comes to the ISS. In the latest show of mutual commitment, the next joint mission launched from Kazakhstan on Friday.

The crew includes two space veterans – American Scott Kelly and Russian Mikhail Kornienko – who are to become the first people to spend a whole year straight on the ISS, rather than the usual six months.

"We do our work that we love and we respect each other," Russian cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev said of life aboard the ISS after returning to Earth this month.

"Whatever the politicians want to get up to, that is their business," he told journalists at a press conference just after landing.

The cooperation it took to launch the ISS in 1998 was a contrast to the Cold War rivalry of the space race between the Soviet Union and United States. And while current US-Russia relations are closer than ever to Cold War-era levels, life remains symbiotic on the ISS, which neither country could operate on its own.

"The US and Russia need each other," American expert John Logsdon, a member of NASA's Advisory Council, told AFP. "It is like a marriage where divorce is almost impossible."

© AP Photo/ NASA/Joel Kowsky

This view from Russian Mission Control Center shows live television of the Expedition 39 crew members gathered together on the International Space Station.

Because the US is no longer launching Space Shuttle flights, it relies on Russian rockets to take astronauts and vital supplies to the space station. Meanwhile, America supplies the power to run the whole project and Russian cosmonauts often use NASA's communications system.

"Even though we are butting heads on Earth, up on the ISS we can't work without them and they can't work without us," Russian space expert Vadim Lukashevich told AFP. "It's impossible to break up this cooperation."

As tensions over Ukraine spiraled, fears mounted that the worst East-West standoff since the collapse of Communism would impact the space program. But rather than affect work on the ISS, the Ukraine crisis might actually have helped cement it for the longer term.

Russia last month confirmed that it will continue using the International Space Station in partnership with NASA until 2024. NASA had already said the ageing ISS will remain operational until 2024 but Moscow had threatened to pull out and stop financing it by 2020.

However, as Russia's economy has suffered economic strife in part due to sanctions imposed by the West over Ukraine, Moscow realized that it could no longer spare the cash to go it alone.

"Why did we decide to stay on the ISS until 2024? The answer is because we had no other option. The crisis also hit us," said Russian expert Lukashevich.

Beyond 2024, however, when the work on the ISS is set to end, as the situation stands now it seems unlikely that the two sides will agree on any major projects, including a manned mission to Mars.

© 2015 Sputnik All rights reserved. 

 

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Scott Kelly arrives at ISS for yearlong mission

James Dean, FLORIDA TODAY 11:12 a.m. EDT March 28, 2015

The Soyuz launched into space Friday with astronaut Scott Kelly who will be on a year-long mission. VPC

(Photo: Roscosmos/GCTC)

10 CONNECT 4 TWEETLINKEDINCOMMENTEMAILMORE

Update, 9:40 p.m. EDT:

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and two Russian cosmonauts have arrived at the International Space Station six hours after launching from Kazakhstan.

"Contact and capture," NASA TV commentator Dan Huot said as their Soyuz spacecraft arrived at 9:33 p.m. Eastern time. "The one-year crew has arrived."

Hatches between the spacecraft are expected to open at 11:15 p.m., allowing Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko to float into their home for the next year.

Soyuz commander Gennady Padalka will stay on the station for a standard six-month expedition.

Earlier:

Scott Kelly's year in space in under way.

The NASA astronaut blasted off with two Russian cosmonauts in a Soyuz spacecraft at 3:42 p.m. Eastern time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Less than 10 minutes later the crew was safely in orbit. Cameras showed Kelly giving a thumbs up during the ride.

Kelly and crewmate Mikhail Kornienko will spend a year living on the International Space Station, where they were expected to arrive within six hours of liftoff.

FLORIDA TODAY

Astronaut Kelly ready for record-setting space trip

 

Gennady Padalka, the commander of the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft, will stay on the station for the standard six-month expedition.

The veteran crew, all of whom have lived on the outpost before, was expected to dock at the laboratory complex orbiting 250 miles above Earth at 9:36 p.m.

A 51-year-old father of two daughters, Kelly will be the first American to live in space for a year, but not the first person to do it.

Four cosmonauts lived on Russia's former Mir station for at least a year, but the last one was 20 years ago.

NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency want to collect more data on microgravity's effects on the human body over extended periods of time, to help plan for exploration missions farther from Earth.

An eventual mission to Mars would last at least 500 days.

"The world is excited about your mission," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told the crew before it departed for the launch pad. "It's the beginning of a new phase of exploration between our two countries . . . and takes us a little bit farther on the journey to Mars, and that's really important for us."

Researchers will also take advantage of Kelly being an identical twin, comparing him in orbit to his brother back on the ground, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly.

Scott Kelly, a veteran of two shuttle flights and a six-month station expedition, was not initially enthusiastic about the idea of a yearlong mission but decided it presented an exciting new challenge.

He said he expects the biggest challenge to be pacing himself so he doesn't get burned out.

"The space station is a magical place," Kelly said earlier this month. "But you never get to leave."

Kelly and his crewmates are on course to join three Expedition 43 crew members already on the station: American Terry Virts, Italian Samantha Cristoforetti and Russian Anton Shkaplerov.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com.

 

Copyright © 2015 www.floridatoday.com. All rights reserved. 

 

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NASA has high hopes for one-year station mission

03/28/2015 12:16 AM 

 

Editor's note...

• Posted at at 11:45 AM ET, 03/27/15: Kelly, crewmates prep for launch to station
• Updated at 04:10 PM ET, 03/27/15: Soyuz takes off (5grafld-pickup5thgraf: Padalka will X X X)
• Updated at 09:35 PM ET, 03/27/15: Soyuz docks with space station (2grafsubafter4thgraf: X X X Good luck, Captain;pickup6thgraf: Padalka will return X X X)
• Updated at 12:05 AM ET, 03/28/15: Hatches opened; adding quotes (8grafsub-pickup7thgraf: Padalka will X X X)

By WILLIAM HARWOOD
CBS News

A workhorse Soyuz booster thundered to life and climbed into a dark Kazakh sky Friday, carrying NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko on a four-orbit voyage to the International Space Station to kick off a marathon 342-day mission, the longest flight ever attempted by an American.

With spacecraft commander Gennady Padalka strapped into the command module's center seat, flanked on the left by flight engineer Kornienko and on the right by Kelly, the Soyuz TMA-16M rocket's main engines ignited with a roar at 3:42:57 p.m. EDT (GMT-4; 1:43 a.m. Saturday local time), pushing the booster away from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The International Space Station passed 260 miles above the launch site just a few moments earlier and after a smooth eight-minute 45-second climb to orbit, the Soyuz spacecraft was released from its upper stage booster, solar wings and navigation antennas deployed and the crew set off after its quarry.

With commander Gennady Padalka at the controls, the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft climbs away from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Friday, kicking off a marathon yearlong mission for NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and crewmate Mikhail Kornienko. (Credit: NASA)

"Good luck, Captain. Make sure to @Instagram it. We're proud of you," President Obama tweeted from his White House account. Added First Lady Michelle Obama: "We have liftoff! @StationCDRKelly just launched for the @Space_Station on his #YearInSpace. Good luck, Captain."

The autonomous rendezvous went smoothly and Padalka, one of Russia's most experienced cosmonauts, monitored a picture-perfect docking at the upper Poisk module at 9:33 p.m. Two hours later, after extensive leak checks, hatches were opened and Expedition 43 commander Terry Virts, cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti welcomed their new crewmates aboard with hugs and handshakes.

The combined crew then floated into the Zvezda command module for a traditional video conference with friends and family standing by at Baikonur.

"I have just one reminder for you," said Kelly's girlfriend, Amiko Kauderer. "Good company, on a long journey, makes the way seem shorter. That's for you and also for your brother, Misha (Kornienko)."

"Yeah, that's right," Kelly agreed. "We're going to be up here a long time, but I couldn't be doing it with a better guy."

Kelly's twin brother Mark, a retired shuttle astronaut who will participate in medical research on the ground throughout the mission, said the Soyuz launch was "pretty impressive."

"It was really impressive from the inside, too1" Scott replied from orbit.

"I think you guys walked out of that building (crew quarters) about 11 hours or so ago, and it's pretty incredible that in 11 hours, you can walk out of a building and be where you are right now," Mark said.

"Yeah, and still be awake!" Scott quipped.

The combined space station crew gathered in the Zvezda command module shortly after the docking of the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft carrying Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly to the lab complex. Front row, left to right: Kelly, Padalka and Kornienko. Back row: Samantha Cristoforetti, Anton Shkaplerov and Terry Virts. (Credit: NASA)

Padalka will return to Earth in September, becoming the world's most experienced spaceman in the process with 878 days in space over five missions. Kelly and Kornienko, both space station veterans, will remain aloft until March 3, 2016, logging 342 days in space.

Four Russian cosmonauts -- Valery Polyakov, Sergei Avdeyev, Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov -- participated in flights aboard the Russian Mir space station lasting between 366 to 438 days, but the last such flight ended in the 1990s. Kelly and Kornienko will be the first ISS crew members to spend nearly a year in space and Kelly will set a new endurance record for American astronauts.

The primary goals of what NASA calls the "One-Year Mission" are to carry out a battery of experiments to learn more about the long-term effects of weightlessness and space radiation beyond the protection of Earth's magnetic field, research considered crucial before astronauts venture beyond low-Earth orbit for eventual flights to Mars.

"This is not Russia's first venture having people stay in space for a year or longer," Kelly said Thursday. "But ... this is the first time we're doing it as an international partnership, which is what I think is one of the greatest success stories of the International Space Station.

"Furthermore, although Misha (Kornienko) and I are only one data point in this goal to have people live and work in space for longer periods with the hopes of someday going perhaps to Mars, you've got to start somewhere. I think this is a great start, and I'm proud to be a part of it."

Kelly and Kornienko will participate in a wide range of experiments to monitor the physiological effects of space travel as well as the psychological impact of an extended flight in a limited, closed environment far beyond family and friends. As an added bonus, Kelly's twin brother Mark, a retired shuttle astronaut, will participate in similar experiments on the ground to provide points of comparison.

Scott Kelly is a veteran of two shuttle flights and a 159-day aboard the station in 2010-11. He said his primary concern is pacing himself and keeping on an even keel as the days turn into weeks and the weeks into months.

Scott Kelly monitors ascent as the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft climbs toward orbit. Out of view to his left are spacecraft commander Padalka and flight engineer Kornienko. (Credit: NASA TV)

"I'll be able to do this," he told reporters in January. "Now, whether I'll be able to do it at the same pace and with the same mood and feeling the same way at the end, I hope, I don't know. But I think I was pretty consistent throughout (my last) flight in how I dealt with my fellow crew members, folks on the ground with regards to how I was feeling, fatigue levels, things like that. I think I'll be able to carry that through for a year."

Talking to reporters Thursday, he said his goal is to "get to the end with hopefully as much energy as I had at the very beginning."

Kelly and Kornienko will be on board during one of the most extensive space station reconfigurations since the shuttle fleet was retired in 2011.

Two new docking adapters will be installed, along with required wiring and other equipment, to pave the way for eventual dockings by commercial crew capsules being built by Boeing and SpaceX.

As part of that work, a storage module will be robotically moved to free up a berthing port for unpiloted cargo ships, and a docking port extension will be moved to serve as a base for one of the new docking adapters. Three spacewalks were carried out in February to install wiring and antennas and four more will be required to finish the work, including at least one by Kelly.

During their stay on the station, Kelly and Kornienko will be members of four different crews, joining Expedition 43, already in progress, and transitioning to Expeditions 44 in May, 45 in September, and 46 in November. Padalka will command Expedition 44 while Kelly will be in charge for Expeditions 45 and 46.

Because of the One-Year Mission, Russia's normal Soyuz crew rotation schedule has been modified. On Sept. 1, a Soyuz ferry craft will carry just one full-time crew member to the station -- Sergei Volkov -- along with two short-term crewmates: European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen and singer Sarah Brightman, the 10th "space tourist" to visit the space station.

Brightman and Mogensen will spend just 10 days aboard the station before returning to Earth Sept. 11 with Padalka.

 

© 2015 William Harwood/CBS News

 

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Year in Space Flight for Russian/American Crew Starts With Spectacular Night Launch and Station Docking

by Ken Kremer on March 27, 2015

The Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft is seen as it launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 43's NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) onboard Friday, March 27 (Saturday, March 28 Kazakh time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The first ever 'One-Year Mission' to the International Space Station (ISS) started with a bang today, March 27, with the spectacular night time launch of the Russian/American crew from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3:42 p.m. EDT Friday (1:42 a.m., March 28 in Baikonur and culminated with a flawless docking this evening.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka launched aboard a Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft to the International Space Station precisely on time today on the Expedition 43 mission.

The crew rocketed to orbit from the same pad as Russia's Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space.

Kelly and Kornienko will spend about a year living and working aboard the space station. Padalka will remain on board for six months.

Streak shot of Expedition 43 Launch to the ISS on March 27 Eastern time, (March 28, 2015, Kazakh time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with Scott Kelly, Mikhail Kornienko, and Gennady Padalka to start one-year ISS mission. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The goal is to use the massive orbiting outpost to provide critical knowledge to NASA and researchers hoping to better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to long-duration spaceflight and the harsh environment of space.

The pathfinding mission is about double the normal time of most expeditions to the Earth orbiting space station, which normally last four to six months.

The one-year mission is among the first concrete steps to start fulfilling NASA's "Journey to Mars" objective of sending "Humans to Mars" in the 2030s.

"Scott Kelly's mission is critical to advancing the administration's plan to send humans on a journey to Mars," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, in a statement.

"We'll gain new, detailed insights on the ways long-duration spaceflight affects the human body."

Year in Space Begins With Soyuz Launch. Media photograph the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft as it launches to the ISS with Expedition 43 NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) onboard at 3:42 p.m. EDT Friday, March 27, 2015 (March 28 Kazakh time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

This evening the three man international crew successfully rendezvous and docked at the ISS at the Poisk module at 9:33 p.m. EDT = just four orbits and six hours after liftoff.

'Contact and capture confirmed, 1 year crew has arrived,' said the NASA launch commentator at 9:33 p.m. EDT.

"Soyuz is firmly attached to the ISS."

Soyuz spacecraft on final approach to dock with the ISS for #YearInSpace mission. Credit: NASA

Docking took place about 253 kilometers off the western coast of Columbia, South America approximately 5 hours and 51 minutes after today's flawless launch from Baikonur.

The crews are scheduled to open the hatches between the Soyuz and ISS at about 11:15 p.m. EDT/315 GMT this evening after conducting pressure, leak and safety checks.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly gives a thumbs-up from inside the Soyuz TMA-16M taking him and Expedition 43 crewmates Mikhail Kornienko, and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) to the International Space Station after a successful launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA

The arrival of Kelly, Kornienko and Padalka returns the massive orbiting outpost to its full six person crew complement.

The trio joins the current three person station crew comprising Expedition 43 commander Terry Virts of NASA, as well as flight engineers Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) and Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, who have been aboard the complex since November 2014.

"Welcome aboard #Soyuz TMA-16M with Genna, Scott, and Misha- we just had a succesful docking," tweeted Virts this evening post docking.

The 1 Year mission will provide baseline knowledge to NASA and its station partners – Roscosmos, ESA, CSA, JAXA – on how to prepare to send humans on lengthy deep space missions to Mars and other destinations in our Solar System.

Astronaut Scott Kelly will become the first American to live and work aboard the orbiting laboratory for a year-long mission and set a new American duration record.

Scott Kelly and Russian Cosmonauts Kornienko and Padalka are all veteran space fliers.

They have been in training for over two years since being selected in Nov. 2012.

No American has ever spent anywhere near a year in space. 4 Russian cosmonauts conducted long duration stays of about a year or more in space aboard the Mir Space Station in the 1980s and 1990s.

Kelly and Kornienko will stay aboard the ISS until March 3, 2016, when they return to Earth on the Soyuz TMA-18M after 342 days in space. Kelly's combined total of 522 days in space, will enable him to surpass current U.S. record holder Mike Fincke's mark of 382 days.

Padalka will return in September after a six month stint, making him the world's most experienced spaceflyer with a combined five mission total of 878 days in space.

NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko comprise the first ever ISS 1 Year Crew

They will conduct hundreds of science experiments focusing on at least 7 broad areas of investigation including medical, psychological and biomedical challenges faced by astronauts during long-duration space flight.

Kelly is a veteran NASA Space Shuttle commander who has previously flown to space aboard both the Shuttle and Soyuz. He also served as a space station commander during a previous six-month stay onboard.

Good luck and Godspeed to Kelly, Kornienko and Padalka – starting on the road to Mars !!

Ken Kremer

Expedition 43 crew members Mikhail Kornienko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), top, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, center, and Gennady Padalka of Roscosmos wave farewell as they board the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft ahead of their launch to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

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One-Year Crew Begins Epic Trip on International Space Station

by Miriam Kramer, Space.com Staff Writer   |   March 28, 2015 12:23am ET

 

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (bottom left) and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka (bottom center) and Mikhail Kornienko (bottom right) are seen on the International Space Station after arriving at the outpost on March 27, 2015. Kelly and Kornienko are beginning a one-year mission to the station. In the top row are (from left): Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA, Anton Shkaplerov of Russia and Terry Virts of NASA. Credit: NASA TV View full size image

Three new crewmembers just arrived at the International Space Station, and two of them won't be leaving for about one year.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are expected to spend about 342 days living and working on the International Space Station — marking the orbiting outpost's first yearlong space mission. Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka also joined Kornienko and Kelly on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that docked with the space station at 8:33 p.m. EDT (0033 GMT). Padalka will stay on the space station for about six months, the usual amount of time people live on the space laboratory.

The Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka is seen by a camera on the International Space Station during docking operations on March 27, 2015. Kelly and Kornienko are beginning a nearly 12-month mission in space.
Credit: NASA TV

View full size image

The Soyuz spacecraft launched from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome in central Asia at 3:42 p.m. EDT (1942 GMT) today (March 27). The hatches between the docked Soyuz and space station opened at 11:33 p.m. EDT (0333 March 28 GMT), allowing the three crewmembers to float into their new home. [The One-Year Space Mission: Full Coverage]

NASA astronaut Mark Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are taking the ultimate space trip: one year in space on the International Space Station. See how their epic yearlong space station mission works in this infographic.
Credit: By Karl Tate, Infographics Artist

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For Kelly and Kornienko, the arrival at the space station marks the beginning of an unprecedented endurance space mission by NASA and Russia's Federal Space Agency. During a live video connection with Russia's mission control center near Moscow, the two men said they were excited now that their journey was underway. 

"We're going to be up here for a long time, but I couldn't be doing it with a better guy," Kelly said. 

NASA's Terry Virts, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, and Russia's Anton Shkaplerov are already living onboard the space station. The three crewmembers had the chance to see the Soyuz launch live from space.

"Soyuz 42S launch as seen from @Space_Station," Virts wrote in a post on Twitter just after launch. "It's quieter than in person, but a very cool view!"

NASA officials hope that the one-year space station mission will help scientists gather data about what long-duration spaceflight does to the human body. While some Soviet-era cosmonauts lived onboard the space station Mir for a year or more in the 1980s and 1990s, researchers don't have a lot of data about how astronauts and cosmonauts are affected by long stints in microgravity. Kelly and Kornienko's spaceflight will hopefully change that.

This kind of research is important because NASA officials hope to one-day launch crewed missions to Mars. It will take at least 500 days for a Mars mission, so more research into the potential safety and health hazards of a long-duration spaceflight is necessary before a Mars mission can launch, according to the space agency.

NASA astronaut Terry Virts tweeted this photo of the launch of Expedition 43 crew members taken on the International Space Station on March 27 (EDT), 2015.
Credit: Terry W. Virts (via Twitter as @AstroTerry)

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Kelly's twin brother and former astronaut Mark Kelly will also participate in experiments on Earth to help researchers studying his brother in space. The identical twins will be monitored in a variety of ways throughout the mission and after Scott comes home to help scientists understand how the long-term mission might alter Scott by comparison to his brother.

"This mission will push the limits of what Americans can do in space," Mark Kelly said in a statement. "I hope it will advance our understanding of what happens when people leave the planet for a long time and help pave the way for sending Americans beyond low-earth orbit. There are a lot of exciting destinations in the universe, some not too far away. This mission is another step toward them."

Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

 

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