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WRITTEN HISTORY FOR CAS NEWS AND USED WITH AUTHORIZATION
Five months after a horrendous abortion, cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and NASA flight engineer Tyler "Nick" Hague, as well as newcomer Christina Koch, are scheduled to take off on Thursday for a six-hour flight to the International Space Station , reinforcing the laboratory crew. back to six.
With Ovchinin attached to the central seat of the control module, flanked to the left of Hague and to the right of Koch, the launch of the Soyuz MS-12 / 58S satellite is expected to take place from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 15:14. EDT Thursday (12:14 pm local time), starting a climb to 45 minutes orbit in 8 minutes.
If all goes well, the spacecraft will overtake the four orbit station later and prepare for an automated docking at the Rassvet module facing Earth around 9:07 pm.
Ovchinin and Hague took off on October 11 aboard the Soyuz MS-10 / 56S. But two minutes after takeoff, one of the four rocket boosters failed to separate properly, causing a catastrophic failure. The abandonment system of the space shuttle Soyuz immediately started, propelling the crew to safety for a parachute descent on Earth.
The problem with the Soyuz recall, which is normally reliable, was quickly identified and corrected, and the current crew of the station – Soyuz Commander MS-11 / 57S, Oleg Kononenko, Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques and NASA's flight mechanic Anne McClain – were lucky enough in orbit on December 3rd.
Speaking with CBS News satellite from Moscow last month, Hague said he continued to trust the safety and reliability of the Soyuz.
"I'm 100% confident," he said. "In the aftermath of the launch, the Russians' reactions, their transparency and their approach were aimed at sharing their data and solving problems, which was impressive. The strength of international cooperation has been put to the test and has never been stronger. "
This does not necessarily make it easier for the wife of The Hague and her two children. All three were present in Baikonur for the launch abortion.
"It is rare for a family to have the opportunity to watch a parent or spouse sit on a rocket, launch into space and witness a catastrophic launch failure." and then have the opportunity to see it reproduce five months later, "he said. I said.
"But I'm lucky, I have an extraordinary wife, amazing children, and my resilience has been impressive. They understand the importance of what we do and why we must continue the mission. The space program has had failures and successes and we are learning as we go. But the important thing is that we continue to move forward.
His wife Catie told CBS News earlier: "I'm nervous. Oh yes. … Every little piece has to work perfectly, and it's scary to be the spouse and look at it from the outside, it's very scary. But I agree with what Nick said. I mean, it's an important mission. And I go back there to help calm my nerves. "
Still, she added, "will I be terrified while I look at him?" Yes, I will be terrified. "
Abortion has cast a key in the well-planned rotation program of the rotation of the space station's teams. Kononenko, Saint-Jacques and McClain have had the station for themselves since the return of three other members of the station on Earth, December 19th.
The Soyuz MS-12 / 58S spacecraft was originally scheduled to be launched in April with Commander Oleg Skripochka, a guest cosmonaut from the United Arab Emirates, and Koch, who was training as a flight engineer or co-pilot. But as a result of the abortion, the flight was moved and Ovchinin and Hague were assigned to join Koch, while Hague assumed the role of co-pilot.
Koch, an electrical engineer, mountaineer and experienced Antarctic researcher, was selected for the astronaut corps in 2013 in the same class as The Hague. She said that Ovchinin and Hague went out of their way to accommodate her on board.
She described Ovchinin as "wonderful", saying that he "met me very kindly in the crew." Since the first day, he has been looking for ways to incorporate my skills and knowledge. He made me feel like a full member of the crew.
"We trained in both the Soyuz segment and the Russian segment of the space station. So we had many opportunities to learn how our colleagues work and we have excellent relationships. I am privileged to fly with him. He has already proven many times that he was flying a lot in space. "
Regarding the safety and reliability of the Soyuz, Koch echoed The Hague and said that she had no scruples or concern.
"For a few months, before the flight changed after the plane was dropped by Nick and Alexey, I was training as a Soyuz co-pilot," she said. "I have had the privilege of learning not only its life support systems, but also entering into the engineering details of many motion controls and even more. other parts of the spaceship.
"It's an amazing machine. The fact that its reliability is so high is a cause of great esteem, and it is a great privilege to train on a spacecraft that has such an excellent track record. It is an honor. It's a good spaceship. "
Kononenko, Saint-Jacques and McClain are expected to return to Earth on June 25 to complete a 203-day mission. Ovchinin, Hague and Koch will have the station until July 6, when three new crew members will arrive: Soyuz MS-13 / 59S commander Alexander Skvortsov, NASA astronaut Drew Morgan, and Italian Luca Parmitano, former astronaut of the European Space Agency.
This flight was the last mission to transport American astronauts during NASA's transition to SpaceX and Boeing commercial ships. On March 2, SpaceX launched its Crew Dragon spacecraft on an unmanned test flight and could be ready to launch the first astronauts in the middle of the summer.
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule is in preparation for an unmanned test flight this spring, followed by a first crewed mission in the fall. Once one or both of the spacecraft declared operational, NASA will be able to stop trusting the Soyuz to route US astronauts and partners to and from the station.
But this certification will require the resolution of many technical problems as well as critical tests of the abandonment systems of each spacecraft. Covering their bets, NASA officials are buying two additional Soyuz seats, one for use this fall and the other next spring. This will ensure a US presence on the station until 2020, even though the Commercial Team Program is experiencing significant delays.
Ovchinin, The Hague and Koch are expected to remain in space for 202 days. Their mission will end with a landing in Kazakhstan on October 3rd. NASA astronauts have both trained in the appointment and reception procedures that will be required if the less likely Crew Dragon Starliner appears during their stay in space.
Hague said the commercial crew program is vital to the station's future. In addition to restoring the American crew launch capacity that was lost during the withdrawal of the shuttle fleet in 2011, the new spacecraft will provide insurance against future problems such as abandonment of launch it has experienced last October.
"I think it's a very big problem," Hague said. "Providing an additional way to put crews into orbit makes the program even more robust. I'm sitting here because the evidence launches are not always going well. We must now have a period where we have three people on the space station for some time. This translates into a reduction of what we can do from a scientific point of view. "
The schedule for launching downstream crew rotation following the July Soyuz flight is changing. Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, is rescheduling the launch sequence, juggling NASA's new headquarters and re-inserting the UAE pamphlet.
But The Hague does not look so far.
"I have experience on a nominal launch until about the first two minutes," he said. "And after that, everything will be new this time. I'm looking forward to the 204 days that will come after the first two minutes.
"We'll be busy up there. Whether it's going out into space, sightseeing or commercial vehicles coming in while we're there, the seven months will be full and I'm looking forward to it all. .
Koch is too. Three NASA space releases are planned at the start of their expedition to install new solar panel batteries and perform other upgrades and maintenance. The Hague and McClain will make their first excursion on March 22. McClain and Koch will do the same seven days later. The Hague and Saint-Jacques will hold the third EVA on April 8th.
Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya was the first woman to walk in space in 1984. Eleven Americans followed in her footsteps, starting with astronaut Kathryn Sullivan. McClain and Koch would be the thirteenth and fourteenth to float outside of a spaceship and the first all-female team to exit into space.
NASA originally planned to install the new solar panel batteries during two spacewalks last fall, but the launch of the Japanese cargo ship HTV-7 carrying them into orbit was delayed and the EVA delayed until the scheduled arrival of The Hague next October. Following the abandonment of the launch, the battery installation was delayed again.
The bulk of the space station's electrical energy is generated by four large sets of rotating solar panels, two to starboard or to the right of the laboratory structure and two to the left or port. The batteries provide power when the station is in the shade of the Earth and are recharged when the bays are again exposed to the sun.
The system originally used 12 batteries for each set of racks, but the replacement units are twice as good, so you need only six per game.
The Japanese freighter HTV-6 delivered the first set of replacement parts in December 2016. They were installed in the starboard 4 or S4 solar panel segment during two spacewalks in January 2017. On-board batteries aboard HTV-7 last September will be installed on the left side of Port 4 or P4, lattice girder segment of The Hague, McClain and Koch.
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