ISS Expedition 21 Crew Launches Tomorrow

The International Space Station (ISS) crew has a few busy days ahead of it this week, with numerous tasks that need to be completed as fast as possible. In addition, it also needs to prepare for an astronaut-replacement routine. The Soyuz TMA-16 space capsule is slated for launch from the Site 254 launch pad, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, the Russian space agency RosCosmos has announced. The delivery system that will launch the capsule was already taken to its take-off site on Monday, and is now ready for its flight.

The famous, Soviet-era capsule will be launched atop a Soyuz delivery system, which has proven its reliability countless times over in previous launches. The flight will ferry two Expedition 21 members to the ISS, alongside first-time space tourist Guy Laliberte, SA. The latter could also be the last member of the general public to go to space, as empty seats in the spacecraft may no longer be available starting next year. If NASA retires its shuttles, then American astronauts may hitch a ride on the capsules as well, which would leave no room for non-ISS personnel. Guy Laliberte is the founder and CEO of the famous Cirque du Soleil.

The Soyuz delivery system was brought out of its assembly hall at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Monday, and was delivered to its launch pad the usual way, via a railcar. Unlike the shuttles, which are ferried by the Crawler-Transporter in a vertical position, the Russian rocket is moved horizontally, and is only lifted to its vertical position once it reaches its destination. The TMA-16 crew includes Commander Maksim Surayev (RosCosmos) and flight engineer Jeffrey Williams (NASA). The two will replace ISS Commander Gennady Padalka (RosCosmos) and station flight engineer Michael Barratt (NASA).

The Expedition 20 crew members will return home in about two weeks, aboard the Soyuz TMA-14 space capsule, which is currently docked to the station. They are scheduled for departure on October 10, and will land in Kazakhstan early the next morning. Once the TMA-16 craft reaches the ISS, on Friday, it will mark the first time three Soyuz capsules (14, 15, and 16) are docked on the sky lab at the same time. A Progress resupply capsule was also docked to the station, but it was deorbited on Sunday, and burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.