Soyuz TMA-18 (ISS 22S), Launched April 2, 2010

[Zipi]

Re: April 2, Soyuz TMA-18 (ISS 22S)

Official Roscosmos launch video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dscNrB8kjTY[/youtube]

 

[EarthlingX]

Re: April 2, Soyuz TMA-18 (ISS 22S)

все нормальные :

 

[Zipi]

Re: April 2, Soyuz TMA-18 (ISS 22S)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-daDU6xe7Ks[/youtube]

 

[EarthlingX]

Re: April 2, Soyuz TMA-18 (ISS 22S)

Group photo ( including ducky ) :

 

[Zipi]

Re: April 2, Soyuz TMA-18 (ISS 22S)

I think this 1080p HD quality video from Baikonur Kosmodrome is most related to Soyuz TMA-18 if I think what kind of threads we have... If somebody has a better understanding, please let me know.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5j__yp-A-k[/youtube]

 

[EarthlingX]

Re: April 2, Soyuz TMA-18 (ISS 22S)

It's a bit of a Baikonur background, about people living and working there and such. Nice They have Soyuz in the works, so i think, this is the correct thread. I could not see any mission markings or dates anywhere, so it would be hard to be more precise.

It looks like Novosti Kosmonavtiki video.

http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/

 

[Zipi]

Re: April 2, Soyuz TMA-18 (ISS 22S)

I'm 98% sure that Soyuz followed at this Baikonur background documentary is TMA-18.

Here is the second part of it:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XofnL-jGbuQ[/youtube]

 

[MarkStanaway]

Re: April 2, Soyuz TMA-18 (ISS 22S)

That's a great find Zipi.
I couldn't get any sound but it would be great if someone could get the original and do an English translation.There is a lot of Baikonur history in those video's. I was fascinated to see the demolished missile silo's, looked like they were SS-18.
The shot from the old An-2 biplane flying over Site 31? was just priceless!
Mark

 

[EarthlingX]

Re: April 2, Soyuz TMA-18 (ISS 22S)

That was a SS-18 R-36M SATAN silo, and for similar. They were destroyed after treaty with USA (START ?). Those still working are being used for Dnepr (SS-18, RS-36MUTTH) launches, like Cryosat-2. They still have some in strategic reserves, but are being replaced with Topol-M
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-36_%28missile%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnepr_launch_vehicle

There's a touchy tune about it : 'when Satan launched from (on?) 109th .. ' ..
She's calling it RS-20 though, to make it more confusing...

AN-2 is a legendary aircraft, and very nice to have in this video - kinda Russian DC-3.
Wiki : Antonov An-2
Google search for images (xillion )
Very nice to fly too, rock solid, low-speed, short take-off .. yea, don't forget propeller pitch !
http://wiki.flightgear.org/index.php/Antonov_An-2

I did not understand exactly what was the story about those papers in the steppe, but i have suspicions, it has something to do with the launch and good neighbourly relations.

Main rocket star of this video was Soyuz: roll-out, pad, launch, .. There was a short clip with Dnepr, when she was talking about destroyed silos, and that was it, at least i think ?

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.federalspace.ru : The Next ISS Commander Unloads Cargo Supplies on His Birthday

:: 06.05.2010

Alexander Skvortsov, who is to take over commanding of the International Space Station later this month, celebrates his 44th birthday on April 6.
Unfortunately, Alexander’s day will be rather busy today.
Skvortsov and FE Mikhail Kornienko continue to unload and inventory the 2.6 tons of food, fuel, oxygen, propellant and supplies delivered by the ISS Progress 37. It docked on Saturday, after Commander Oleg Kotov deftly guided the cargo craft to the Pirs docking compartment using TORU, the Russian telerobotically operated rendezvous system.
Progress 37 joined another Russian resupply vehicle, Progress 36, which is docked at the aft port of the Zvezda service module. Skvortsov and his fellow-crew-members today will spend part of their day loading trash and other unneeded items into Progress 36 for disposal when the craft undocks May 10 and is later deorbited to burn in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Alexander will also complete the Sonocard experiment, which he started yesterday, and make imaging under remote sensing research Rusalka.
This working day will bring somw pleasure for Skvortsov (who’s nick-name among his friends is Sanya)- he will talk to the psychologists and to his family. A small party for Alexander will be organized by the ISS crew this evening.

Roscosmos PAO

 

[EarthlingX]

Change of Command on ISS
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAxhAGSRQuE[/youtube]

 

[EarthlingX]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9-WrRNVZJo[/youtube]

 

[EarthlingX]

SDC : World Cup Mania Reaches Astronauts in Space

By Clara Moskowitz
SPACE.com Senior Writer
posted: 10 June 2010
06:24 pm ET



World Cup soccer mania has launched off planet Earth and reached astronauts living on the International Space Station.

The three spaceflyers currently on the orbiting lab will join millions of soccer fans on Earth cheering on the teams competing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament, set to begin Friday in Johannesburg, South Africa.

"We get together every evening for dinner and sit around the TV," said American astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson of NASA, on the typical routine at the station. "I bet you there will be some cheering around the table as we get World Cup soccer sent up to us."

Caldwell Dyson lives on the space station with two Russian cosmonauts, including commander Alexander Skvortsov – who lists soccer as one of his main interests in life in his biography. And the station crew plans to take advantage of their special viewpoint on the games.

"We can see the great country that the sport's being celebrated and played in," Caldwell Dyson said. "I think that there's a few that would like to be able to see the games in person up here."

NASA - ISS Live stream :

 

[EarthlingX]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApHRaGTGgwI[/youtube]

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/ : Station Astronaut Caldwell Dyson Sends First Sign Language Message From Space (video)

07.22.10

The International Space Station has had guests from all over the world, representing myriad languages. But until NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson came aboard, one language was still not represented. Said to be the fourth most commonly used language in the United States, American Sign Language, or ASL, made its debut on the space station in a special video recorded by Caldwell Dyson.

Ultimately, this isn't really about me learning or knowing ASL," stated Caldwell Dyson. "This story should be an avenue for deaf students -- from children in kindergarten to college undergraduates to doctoral candidates -- to see themselves belonging to this amazing thing called NASA and participating in scientific research and space exploration."

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.federalspace.ru : NASA Astronaut Celebrated Her 41th Birthday in Orbit

:: 15.08.2010

NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson celebrated her 41th birthday in orbit on August 14.
Caldwell Dyson spent this day cleaning the station together with her 5 colleagues aboard the International Space Station. As the station’s internal volume exceeds today 370 cubic meters, all the ISS crew has t deal with the housekeeping. The cleaning is done with the help of special napkins.
In the evening, the crew got together at a ‘table’ onboard to congratulate Tracy on her birthday.
It’s the third space mission of Caldwell Dyson, ITAR-TASS informs.

Here is a clip related to the previous post :

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZINGH2sY4qI[/youtube]

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.spaceref.com : NASA TV To Provide Coverage Of Next Soyuz Landing, Launch

* Source: NASA HQ
* Posted Monday, September 13, 2010


The return to Earth of three International Space Station crew members and the prelaunch activities, launch and docking of the station's newest trio of residents will be broadcast on NASA Television during the next several weeks.

After almost six months aboard the orbital laboratory, Expedition 24 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov, NASA Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Russian Flight Engineer Mikhail Kornienko are scheduled to land their Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft in southern Kazakhstan on Sept. 23 (Sept. 24 in Kazakhstan).

Russian cosmonaut and Soyuz Commander Alexander Kaleri, NASA Flight Engineer Scott Kelly and Russian Flight Engineer Oleg Skripochka will launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-01M on Oct. 7 (Oct. 8 in Kazakhstan) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They will join NASA astronaut and Expedition 25 Commander Doug Wheelock, NASA Flight Engineer Shannon Walker and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, who have been aboard the station since June 18.

The coverage begins with a NASA TV Video File feed at 11 a.m. CDT Sept. 17. The footage will include the prelaunch news conference with Kelly, Kaleri and Skripochka at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, and their ceremonial visit to lay flowers at the Kremlin Wall in Red Square in Moscow.

and more details in the article.



http://www.federalspace.ru : PHOTO of the DAY: ISS Commander Prepares for Returning to the Earth

:: 14.09.2010

More about Soyuz TMA-18 crew preps for landing slated for Sept. 24 - here.

 

[wolverine84]

This is awesome!. The "backstage" of the mission. One thing I really like about russians is the openness of procedures. You get close look at the details and how things are beeing put together.

 

[EarthlingX]

www.federalspace.ru : ISS Crew Continues Preps for Return

:: 17.09.2010

Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft‘s will return to Earth on Sept. 24 with Expedition 24 Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko aboard. The trio’s departure will signal the start of Expedition 25 under the command of current Flight Engineer Doug Wheelock.
Russian crew members continue their preparations for return, taking special vitamins and training in Chibis device which reproduces gravity for the lower part of the body. As long-term space missions make muscles weaker, Russian scientists developed Chibis in order to simplify rehabilitation for the returning cosmonauts.
Soyuz TMA-18 is slated for departure from the ISS at 5:34 a.m. MSK, Sept. 24, and to land at 8:55 to the east of Kazakhstan's Dzheskazgan.

Roscosmos PAO

 

[EarthlingX]

spacefellowship.com : Expedition 24 Crew Members Prepare for Landing

Published by Klaus Schmidt
on Sat Sep 18, 2010 7:22 am
via: NASA



Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko conducted Soyuz descent training in advance of their departure on Sept. 23. Once they undock, Expedition 25 will begin its increment with Commander Doug Wheelock and Flight Engineers Shannon Walker and Mikhail Kornienko continuing their stay on the International Space Station.

All six crew members spent some time Friday discussing handover of responsibilities in the event of an emergency before crew departure. The ceremonial Change-of-Command from Skvortsov to Wheelock takes place Wednesday.

Three new station crew members prepared for their October launch with a news conference in Star City, Russia. They then traveled to Moscow for traditional pre-launch activities at the Kremlin Wall. Flight Engineers Scott Kelly, Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka will join Expedition 25 when they dock in the new Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft.

Hurricane activity this week captured the crew’s attention as they videotaped storms in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Hurricane Julia was videotaped following Hurricane Igor in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Karl was videotaped in the Pacific Ocean as it reached the western coast of Mexico near Veracruz.

The crew also performed eye exams, transferred cargo from the new ISS Progress 39 resupply ship and stowed gear from the MARES, or Muscle Atrophy Research and Exercise System.

From the Human Space Flight Web Gallery :

ISS024-E-011619 (7 Aug. 2010) --- Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, Expedition 24 commander; and NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, flight engineer, are pictured near a robotic workstation in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station.

ISS024-E-014468 (14 Sept. 2010) --- Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, Expedition 24 flight engineer, writes notes while working in the Pirs Docking Compartment of the International Space Station.

ISS024-E-014009 (9 Sept. 2010) --- NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Expedition 24 flight engineer, works with the advanced Resistive Exercise Device (aRED) in the Tranquility node of the International Space Station.

 

[MeteorWayne]

ISS024-E-014009 (9 Sept. 2010) --- NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Expedition 24 flight engineer, works with the advanced Resistive Exercise Device (aRED) in the Tranquility node of the International Space Station.

That's one honkin' big graham cracker! No wonder they need to exercise! :lol:

 

[EarthlingX]

One of the regular status updates, with significant events ahead :
www.spaceref.com : NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 20 September 2010

STATUS REPORT
Date Released: Monday, September 20, 2010
Source: NASA HQ

Astro_Wheels: During a night pass this week over the southern Indian Ocean, we were greeted with a magnificent moonlit Aurora light show out over Antarctica . Behold! Aurora Australis…the Southern Lights…dancing across the sacred moonlit night. “…and I think to myself…what a wonderful world…”

SDC article about Auroras : Northern Lights Get Internet Reality Show

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.federalspace.ru : About 20 Air Force Craft to Maintain Soyuz TMA-18 Crew Safety During Descent

:: 21.09.2010

Return of the ISS-24 crew will be supported by about 20 helicopters and airplanes, and 250 people, official of Russian Air Force Vladimir Brik told RIA Novosti.
The Air Force trainied yesterday in Kazakhstan in order to prepare for landing of the Soyuz TMA-18 with three crew – Alexander Skvortsov, Mikhail Kornienko and Tracy Caldwell Dyson early in the morning on Sept. 24. The capsule is expected to land at 08:55 a.m. Moscow time, North East from Kazakhstan’s Dzheskazgan.
On the ground, expert groups from Rosaeronavigation, GCTC, RSC-Energia, IBMP doctors, NASA and other entities will wait for the crew in several expected landing spots.
According to Brik, Russian Air Force will also support the launch of the Soyuz TMA-01M crew vehicle to occur on Oct. 8 from Baikonur.

 

[EarthlingX]

spacefellowship.com : Station Crew Prepares for Soyuz Undocking

by Klaus Schmidt

Wed Sep 22, 2010 7:59

Aboard the International Space Station Tuesday, Expedition 24 Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko conducted final Soyuz descent training in preparation for their undocking Thursday at 9:34 p.m. EDT. The trio reviewed the effects of the sudden gravitational forces they will experience as their Soyuz TMA-18 capsule re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere and deploys its parachutes for a landing in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 12:55 a.m. Friday.

Skvortsov also conducted a test of the Soyuz’s motion control system while Caldwell Dyson and Kornienko packed up additional items for return to Earth.

Twitchell Canyon Fire in central Utah is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 24 crew member on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

Once they undock, Expedition 25 will begin its increment with Commander Doug Wheelock and Flight Engineers Shannon Walker and Fyodor Yurchikhin continuing their stay on the station. Skvortsov will ceremonially hand command of the station over to Wheelock around 5 p.m.Wednesday.

...

 

[EarthlingX]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJLPuftMGOU[/youtube]

NASAtelevision | September 22, 2010

During a special Change of Command Ceremony aboard the International Space Station, the reins of the International Space Station were passed from Expedition 24 Commander Alexander Skvortsov to Expedition 25 Commander Doug Wheelock. Expedition 24 crew membersTracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko will return to Earth on Sept. 24.

www.nasa.gov : Departure Preps and Handover Activities for Crew

Expedition 24 Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko made final preparations Wednesday for their departure from the International Space Station and their return home.

They are set to depart the station aboard their Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft Thursday with hatch closure scheduled for 6:20 p.m. EDT, undocking at 9:35 p.m. and landing in the steppes of Kazakhstan at about 12:55 a.m. Friday.

To prepare the Soyuz for departure, Skvortsov, Kornienko and Caldwell Dyson conducted a checkout of its systems and stowed items for return to Earth.

Once they undock, Expedition 25 will begin its increment with Commander Doug Wheelock and Flight Engineers Shannon Walker and Fyodor Yurchikhin continuing their stay on the station.

Skvortsov ceremonially handed command of the station over to Wheelock on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Wheelock, Walker and Yurchikhin participated in an emergency Soyuz descent drill with Russian flight control teams to prepare for the unlikely event that they would need to evacuate the station aboard the spacecraft.

Wheelock, Walker and Caldwell Dyson also had time scheduled to relocate crew living quarters from the Japanese Kibo laboratory to the U.S. Harmony module.