Tag Archives: soyuz

All clear on ISS after close approach of space debris

International Space Station

International Space Station

The International Space Station crew took shelter in their Soyuz spacecraft earlier this morning when a piece of space debris made a close approach to the International Space Station.

The space debris was tracked from Friday morning and was predicted to pass the ISS at an estimated distance of 23 km at around 07:38 CET on Saturday morning. The late notification of a possible debris conjunction meant it was no longer possible to perform an orbit boost to move the Station clear of the debris. In such situations, it is a standard precautionary procedure for the crew to shelter in their Soyuz spacecraft.

The six ISS Expedition 30 crewmembers were awake one hour earlier than scheduled and entered their two Russian Soyuz spacecraft, where they waited for the debris to pass. The crew exited the Soyuz spacecraft once the all-clear was given by flight controllers in NASA's mission control centre in Houston.

Read more about space debris on:
ESA's Space Situtational Awareness website
NASA's FAQ on orbital debris

Stunning. Speechless. ESA’s Paolo Nespoli captures the ISS like never before

Updated 9 June - scroll down for video

These images of the International Space Station, the docked ATV-2 Johannes Kepler and the docked Space Shuttle Endeavour, flying at an altitude of approximately 220 miles, were taken by ESA astronaut and Expedition 27 crew member Paolo Nespoli from the Soyuz TMA-20 following its undocking on 23 May 2011 (USA time). They are the first-ever images of a space shuttle docked to the International Space Station. Onboard the Soyuz were Russian cosmonaut and Expedition 27 commander Dmitry Kondratyev; Nespoli; and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman. Coleman and Nespoli were both flight engineers. The three landed in Kazakhstan later that day, completing 159 days in space.

ISS with ATV & Shuttle docked captured by ESA's Paolo Nespoli credit: ESA/NASA/Roscosmos

ISS with ATV & Shuttle docked captured by ESA's Paolo Nespoli credit: ESA/NASA/Roscosmos

ISS with ATV & Shuttle docked credit: ESA/NASA/Roscosmos

ISS with ATV & Shuttle docked credit: ESA/NASA/Roscosmos

ISS with ATV & Shuttle docked captured by ESA's Paolo Nespoli credit: ESA/NASA/Roscosmos

ISS with ATV & Shuttle docked captured by ESA's Paolo Nespoli credit: ESA/NASA/Roscosmos

More images via NASA here and also here. Also, beautiful view of the shuttle here.

And all images in a slide show, courtesy of the ESA Flickr channel:

And finally, here's the video, courtesy NASA:

Soyuz TMA-20 before undocking last night

... with ATV JK seen in the background. More (and better!) pictures expected later today after last night's ISS flyaround to provide a photo op to the astronauts on board the Soyuz capsule.

Soyuz TMA-20 before undocking (ATV in background) Credit: ESA/NASA

Soyuz TMA-20 before undocking (ATV in background) Credit: ESA/NASA

50th anniversary of human spaceflight next week…

It's a quiet Saturday evening, so we thought this excellent photo of Soyuz TMA-21 being lifted earlier today would be a nice way to remind everyone that in just a few days, 12 April, we'll reach the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's epoch-marking flight. Read more on Gagarin's flight plus details on European & worldwide 'Yuri's Night' celebrations at ESA's 50th anniversary site here (and in other news, Soyuz will soon be launching from the same Spaceport from where ATV lifts off).

Expedition 27 Soyuz Rollout (201104020010HQ)

The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft is lifted into position on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Saturday, April 2, 2011. The Soyuz, which has been dubbed “Gagarin”, is launching one week shy of the 50th anniversary of the launch of Yuri Gagarin from the same launch pad in Baikonur on April 12, 1961 to become the first human to fly in space. The first stage of the Soyuz booster is emblazoned with the name “Gagarin” and the likeness of the first person to fly in space. Photo Credit (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Progress 41 launches for ISS

Yesterday at 02:31 CET, a Soyuz rocket launched with the 41st Russian Progress cargo freighter for the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The Progress M-09M spacecraft is loaded with 3,080 pounds of equipment, 1,918 pounds of propellant, 926 pounds of water and 110 pounds of oxygen and air. Docking is set for Sunday, 30 January, at 03:40 CET.

More images and video via SpaceFlightNow