Space station crew move Soyuz spacecraft to new parking lot before new arrivals

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On Friday, March 19, two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut circled the International Space Station, as they moved their Soyuz spacecraft in anticipation of the arrival of the next crew.

Expedition 64 commander Sergey Ryzhikov and flight engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, both from Russian state space company Roscosmos, and flight engineer Kate Rubins from NASA, donned their suits. pressure Sokol, boarded their Russian Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft, then detached themselves from the land-facing Port of the station’s Rassvet Mini-Research Module 1 (MRM 1) at 12:38 p.m. EDT (16 h 38 GMT).

“Separation!” Ryzhikov radioed to Russian Mission Control outside of Moscow as the Soyuz left the space station.

Related: How NASA Booked Last-Minute Space Trip Aboard Russian Soyuz

Russian Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft with Expedition 54 Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, both from Russian State Space Company Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins from NASA on board is seen from a camera outside the International Space Station as it is transferred from the Rassvet module to Poisk on Friday, March 19, 2021.

Russian Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft with Expedition 54 Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, both from Russian State Space Company Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins from NASA, on board is seen from a camera outside the International Space Station as it is transferred from the Rassvet module to Poisk on Friday, March 19, 2021. (Image credit: NASA TV)

Slowly moving away from Rassvet at a speed of less than one foot per second (0.2 meters per second), the Soyuz reached a separation distance of about 40 meters and stopped while ground controllers and Ryzhikov ensured that the Soyuz systems were properly configured.

Ryzhikov piloted the Soyuz on a flight over the Russian segment of the orbiting laboratory, from nadir to zenith, via the Progress MS-16 and Progress MS-14 cargo vehicles while maneuvering towards the port facing the space of the Poisk Mini – Research module 2 (MRM 2).

After another brief pause to ensure the Soyuz was aligned with Poisk, Ryzhikov, Kud-Sverchkov and Rubins reconnected with the space staton at 1:12 p.m. EDT (5:12 GMT), 34 minutes after undocking.

“Awaiting contact. Contact confirmed!” Ryzhikov said.

“Congratulations on the successful docking,” responded Mission Control.

The Russian Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft is seen from a camera outside the International Space Station after docking with the Poisk Mini Research Module 1 (MRM 1). Expedition 64 teammates Sergey Ryzhikov, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Kate Rubins moved the Soyuz from the port facing Earth onto the Rassvet module on Friday, March 19, 2021.

The hatches between the Soyuz and the station were scheduled to open around 3:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 p.m. GMT).

The move of the Soyuz MS-17 has freed the port of Rassvet for the arrival of another Soyuz spacecraft, MS-18, which will launch three crew members for Expedition 65 from the station in April. Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Piotr Dubrovnik, as well as NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, are scheduled to take off on April 9 from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Related: The International Space Station

View of the data display aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft as it approaches a redocking with the International Space Station on Friday, March 19, 2021. Expedition 64 crewmen Sergey Ryzhikov, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Kate Rubins moved the Soyuz from Earth- facing the port on the Rassvet module to the port facing space on the Poisk module.

The Soyuz movement was made to keep Poisk open for future spacewalks. The module was first used as an airlock in November 2020. With the MS-17 crew due to leave the space station for Earth on April 17 and docking the Soyuz MS-18 at Rassvet, Poisk will be open to support the Russian. extravehicular activities.

Soyuz relocations are not frequent, but they are not uncommon either. In the 20-year history of human operations on international space stations, crews have now relocated their Soyuz spacecraft 19 times in different ports. Another 29 Soyuz movements were performed by cosmonauts on earlier Russian space stations, for a total of 48 relocations since 1978.

Robert Pearlman is a contributing writer at Space.com and the publisher of collectSPACE.com, a partner site of Space.com and the leading news publication on the history of space. Follow collectSPACE on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Follow us @Spacedotcom and Facebook.

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