Soyuz MS-18 mission highlights
Play the video below to watch the highlights of the launch:
MISSION SCHEDULE
Friday, April 9, 2021
2:45 a.m. EST – NASA television launch coverage begins.
3:42 a.m EST – Launch
6:15 a.m. EST – Docking to the ISS
9 a.m. EST – Hatch opening
Soyuz MS-18 Mission overview
Soyuz MS-18 transported three members of the Expedition 64 crew to the ISS. Launch was scheduled on April 9, 2021 from Baikonur, Site 31 launch pad, Kazakhstan. The Soyuz MS-18 crew arrived ahead of the launch and docking of Nauka on July 15, 2021. Nauka, also known as the “Multipurpose Laboratory Module” (MLM), will initially be used for experiments, docking and cargo. It will also serve as a crew work and rest area.
The spacecraft is expected to serve as the landing vehicle for film director Klim Shipenko and a Russian actress who will launch to the ISS aboard Soyuz MS-19 on September 22, 2021. Shipenko and the actress are planned to spend about a week on the ISS in order to film a movie, before returning to Earth.
The Soyuz MS-18 mission patch celebrates 60 years of manned space missions since a human first flew into space, Yuri Gagarin in 1961.
Meet the Soyuz MS-18 crew
Take part in the space history
Image credits:
Crew portrait: NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Oleg Novitskiy: NASA/James Blair, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Pyotr Dubrov: NASA/Roscosmos
Mark Vande Hei: NASA/Bill Stafford and Robert Markowitz, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Mission patch: Roscosmos, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
“European astronaut selection 2021: The Ultimate Guide”: Vadim Sadovski