The Soyuz is set to dock at the International Space Station six hours after launch, where the trio will be welcomed by American astronaut Tim Kopra, who is the current commander, along with British astronaut Tim Peake and Russian Yuri Malenchenko. The crew have been conducting hundreds of scientific experiments aboard the orbiting laboratory. At the end of his stay, he’ll hold the record for longest cumulative days an American has spent in space-534 days, if you’re keeping track. With this mission, he will break the record set this year by fellow astronaut Scott Kelly.
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“I’ve counted it up recently and I think I have been on orbit at the space station with 45 different people over the years”, Williams said on Nasa television.
He presently ranks sixth among NASA astronauts in cumulative time in space and 35th among all space fliers on a list mostly populated by Russian astronauts.
Expedition 47 crew members also are expected to receive the first expandable habitat, which will allow NASA its first test of an innovative habitat concept that can support astronauts who live and work in the harsh environment of space. The crew will stay there for a mission that will last for six months.
The ISS, which maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 330 and 435 kilometers (205 and 270 miles), has been continuously occupied since November 2, 2000, setting a record for the longest continuous human presence in space.
Record-breaking USA astronaut Scott Kelly will soon retire from his active duties at NASA.
SpaceX will get back to restocking the International Space Station with its next cargo resupply mission slated for April 8th, NASA confirmed today.
He will continue to participate in the ongoing research related to his one-year mission, providing periodic medical samples and supporting other testing in the same way his twin brother, former astronaut Mark Kelly, made himself available for NASA’s twins study during his brother’s mission.
“In four windows I can see the Earth”, one of the cosmonauts told Mission Control as they rose.
Next week, Kelly heads to Russian Federation, where he’ll be reunited with the cosmonaut who shared his 340-day space station mission, Mikhail Kornienko.
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All of the images and data that are captured from inside the module will be relayed to Orbital ATK and to Glenn before Cygnus returns to Earth so that they can analyze the data and use it to further develop technologies to protect future astronauts. A second Dragon spacecraft will carry a new International Docking Adapter to the station as early as summer, and require a spacewalk for installation.
