Clapway: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Thanks to Russian Soyuz once again, another Russian cosmonaut, American astronaut, and Japanese space traveler rendezvoused with the International Space Station (ISS) this Thursday. This came following a smooth lift off from the Russian launch facility in Kazakhstan 5 hours and 45 minutes earlier, on the previous Wednesday, 2102 GMT.

After takeoff, the rocket achieved orbit roughly fifteen minutes post-launch, orbiting the planet four times before it approached the space station.

THIS TIME WE’VE SENT HUMANS

Contained in the Russian Soyuz capsule were the Russian Oleg Kononenko, Kimiya Yui from Japan, and NASA’s Kjell Lindgren. For Lindgren and Yui, this was their first time. During a press conference preceding the flight upon the Russian Soyuz, Yui informed interested parties that he’s bringing sushi with him to share with the other space travelers upon his arrival.

SUSHI RENDEZVOUS TO ENSUE ON RUSSIAN SOYUZ

These new additions to the ISS join the already present crew: Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly. Mikhail and Scott are four months in to what will have been an almost year-long mission in the ISS.

This successful Russian Soyuz launch and rendezvous with the ISS is actually the tail end of a two-month delay following a failed launch of an unmanned Russian cargo ship in April. Some system failures are always to be expected, but the Russians became concerned enough to forestall future launches pending a reassessment of their rocket design. This had left the already present crew mentioned shortly above (Padalka, Kornienko and Kelly) stuck in space with dwindling supplies until a second Russian cargo ship launched successfully earlier this July.

SPACE RIVALS

This year, it seems the Russian Space program is in better standing when it comes to orbital flights. The last Russian cargo ship successfully launched also followed the failed launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket , which exploded roughly 3 minutes after launch. SpaceX has since come to believe the explosion was caused by a steel strut holding down a bottle of high-pressure helium.

SPACE FRIENDS

Of course it’s unfortunate that three major space programs, one private and two national, happened to experience such catastrophic failures in the same few months, but with three new astronauts safely aboard the ISS, we can rest assured human space ventures will continue unheeded.

Though without sushi, this space adventure can’t be missed:

Russian Soyuz Brings Three More Men to ISS, Sushi Ensues

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) breathed a collective sigh of relief after receiving much-needed supplies thanks to the ISS resupply mission.

ISS RESUPPLY MISSION SUCCESS AT LAST

Russia’s Progress 60 cargo spaceship launched atop a Soyuz-U rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:55 a.m. ET on Friday, July 3. The craft reached orbit nine minutes after launch. And it successfully docked with the ISS at 3:11 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 5.

Progress 60 delivered more than three tons of supplies including food, water, fuel, oxygen, spare parts, and experiments to the ISS.

The spacecraft will remain docked to the ISS for four months.

This successful ISS resupply mission launch and docking comes after a string of unsuccessful attempts to resupply the ISS with essential supplies.

The third time’s the charm as the say! #Progress60 arrives overnight. Great news. #YearInSpace (with supplies!) pic.twitter.com/BRRFA13ER1

— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) July 5, 2015

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket broke apart shortly after launch on June 28, destroying its cargo-carrying Dragon spacecraft. A Russian Progress cargo spaceship spiraled out of control and was lost shortly after its launch in April 2015. And Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo capsule exploded just above its launch platform in October 2014.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

The station’s crew is thrilled by the successful ISS resupply mission, Progress 60 mission, describing that receiving the needed supplies feels like “Christmas in July.”

#Progress docks to Pirs docking compartment at 3:11am ET. Crew reports, “Feels like Christmas in July” pic.twitter.com/pVoGUG5aQL

— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) July 5, 2015

Because of the previous failed missions, the crew was just months away from needing to break into emergency reserve supplies.

The new supplies should be enough to sustain the station through November. The next mission to resupply the ISS is Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle, scheduled to launch in mid-August.

ROAD TO RECOVERY

SpaceX is still investigating the cause of the June 28 Falcon 9 failure. The private space company hopes to learn from its first failed ISS resupply attempt and continue improving its space flight capabilities.

SpaceX plans to test an in-flight abort feature to demonstrate the ability of the Dragon capsule to separate from its rocket in the event of a rocket malfunction—something that could save cargo and, eventually, astronauts’ lives, if a similar event like the June 28 ISS resupply mission rocket failure occurs.

The company recently announced that it will launch this abort test from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida instead of the originally planned location of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Orbital Sciences has essentially been grounded since the failure of its Antares rocket. But the company’s Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket in late 2015.

For a Space Scouts Summer Adventure review, go here:

Resupply Mission Successfully Reaches the ISS

Clapway

Thursday, July 23, 2015

#Sushi and #diplomacy in #space thanks to #RussianSoyuz. - http://clapway.com/2015/07/23/russian-soyuz-brings-three-more-men-to-iss-sushi-ensues-234/