Soyuz crew launches successfully towards ISS
by Steven Mostyn - Apr 5 2011, 10:03
Safely on their way. Image: NASA.
Russia has today launched yet another of its Soyuz spacecraft towards the stars on a scheduled crew run to the International Space Station (ISS).
Departing the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at around 4:20 a.m. (22:20 GMT), the TMA-21 rocket will require two days to reach its distant destination.
Aboard are Commander Alexander Samokutyayev, cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko and NASA flight engineer Ron Garan—all of whom will spend six months aboard the orbiting science facility.
It’s worth noting that the latest flight towards the ISS comes a week before Russia will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic journey as the world’s first man into space.
Gargarin’s mission aboard his Vostok spacecraft took place on April 12, 1961, and saw the groundbreaking cosmonaut successfully orbit the Earth after blasting clear from the very same launch pad used this morning.
Initially pencilled in for a March 30 launch, the mission was pushed back to April 5 following problem with the Soyuz spacecraft's communications systems.
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