Soyuz 24 Crew Blasts Off to the ISS

Three space fliers took off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome earlier today, at 1:35 local time. The crew is part of Expedition 24 to the International Space Station, and represents the final additions to the crew segments already in orbit. Two NASA astronauts and a RosCosmos cosmonaut are currently in low-Earth orbit (LEO), heading for a meet-up with the orbital facility in a couple of days. Once they reach their destination, the ISS crew will again be restored to six permanent residents, Space reports.

The astronauts that went aboard the Soyuz said just before launch that they were very excited to participate in this new mission. Two of them, an astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut, have already flown to space before on several occasions, while the other NASA space flier is at her first stay on the ISS. American astronaut Douglas Wheelock is joined by NASA colleague Shannon Walker - who is currently carrying out her first spaceflight, and cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, who is the commander of the Soyuz mission.

Due to time line differences, the spacecraft will actually be taking off on June 16, at 1:35 local time. The crew will be spending the next two days in Earth's orbit, on a course that will catch up with the ISS in about 48 hours. NASA astronaut Shannon Walker flies on the 47th anniversary of the first launch of a woman into space. In 1963, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova took to orbit aboard a Vostok 3KA spacecraft, during the Vostok 6 mission. She is now retired.

“It's an honor to launch on her date, as well,” Walker said before the launch. Looking ahead, the schedule Mission Controls in Russia and the United States set up for Expedition 24 is very complex. The crew needs to perform a series of spacewalks to take care of and maintain the $100 billion station. Additionally, they have to host the final two shuttle missions, flown aboard Discovery and Endeavor, in September and November, respectively. During their six-month stay, several automated cargo ships will also have to be attached to the ISS, unloaded, reloaded with waste materials, and then undocked.