Launch News Soyuz TMA-08M launch and mission updates (March 28/9 - September 2013)

sorindafabico · Mar 7, 2013

Soyuz TMA-08M, March 28 - Expedition 35

Next Soyuz Crew Will Take 6-Hour Fast-Track to Space Station

The next Soyuz crew will be the first to try out the new abbreviated four-orbit rendezvous with the International Space Station. This relatively new, modified launch and docking profile for the Russian ships has been tried successfully with three Progress resupply vehicles, and now Roscosmos and NASA have agreed to try it on a human flight.

“We tried this approach on the cargo vehicles, and now we will try to do it on the manned vehicles,” said Sergei Krikalev, former cosmonaut, who now leads the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center near Moscow, speaking through an interpreter on NASA TV. “Now we have onboard new machinery and new software, so the vehicle is more autonomous, so it’s possible to do a lot onboard the vehicle and to calculate the burns so they don’t consume a lot of fuel.”

In the past, Soyuz manned capsules and Progress supply ships were launched on trajectories that required about two days, or 34 orbits, to reach the ISS. The new fast-track trajectory has the rocket launching shortly after the ISS passes overhead. Then, additional firings of the vehicle’s thrusters early in its mission expedites the time required for a Russian vehicle to reach the Station.
Liftoff of the Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft is scheduled for 4:43 p.m. EDT (20:43 UTC) on March 28 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Docking is set for 10:31 p.m. EDT (02:31 UTC).

“The Soyuz is not the most comfortable vehicle to be in for an extended period of time,” said NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy who is part of the Expedition 35/36 crew who will make the first fast-track flight. “The toilet is right next to where you sleep which are right next to your buddy and eating and all; it’s like living for a day in a smart car or a Volkswagen Beetle….So the benefit to us is we get to the space station faster with the facilities that it offers, much more comfortable type of environment to be in and it also demonstrates some technology that’s useful in getting to the space station on that same day.”

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Next Soyuz Crew Will Take 6-Hour Fast-Track to Space Station

Cosmic Penguin · Mar 28, 2013

Well it's almost Easter, and that means one thing - another new crew to the ISS! :thumbup:

Today's launch includes a Russian veteran cosmonaut flying since the old Mir era, another rookie cosmonaut and an ultra-cool Navy SEAL-turned astronaut. One key difference from other launches is that the road to ISS will be rather short - in fact this will be the fastest ISS manned flight from launch to docking. Using the four orbit phasing rendezvous method proved by several Progress flights since August last year, the crew will reach the doorsteps of ISS just 6 hours after launch, reducing the inconvenience of being stuck in a place smaller than your bathroom for two whole days (although it doesn't come free - the crew are stuck with their launch and entry suits for the whole journey, and they will have to work for 16 hours from pre-launch to post-docking :shifty

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Launch location:

Baikonur Launch pad no. 1/5 45°55'12.85"N, 63°20'32.27"E

Launch dates and times:

{colsp=6}Launch times

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Australia - Sydney/AEST (UTC+11)

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Baikonur / UTC+6

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Moscow / MSKS (UTC+4)

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Universal / UTC

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Washington / EDT (UTC-4)

Launch time (Primary):

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