14 DAY TRIAL // Three astronauts are currently undergoing final preparations in Kazakhstan, as they get ready to embark on the Soyuz TMA-18 space capsule. The mission, which will take place in the TMA-18 vehicle, is scheduled to blast of on Friday, April 2, at around 12:04 EDT (0404 UTC). The mission is bound to the International Space Station (ISS), where its three passengers will join the astronauts already on board, to complete the newly-begun Expedition 23. The Soyuz spacecraft will take off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which is operated by the Russian Federal Space Agency (RosCosmos), NASA reports.
The Soyuz was delivered to its launch pad yesterday morning, aboard a train, and in horizontal position. Unlike NASA shuttles and external fuel tanks, these Russian-built space vehicles are delivered on their sides, and are erected directly on their launch pads, ready to fly. This particular mission will again bring the total number of ISS astronauts to six, just a few days before space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
After TMA-18 docks to a Russian berth on the station, it will remain affixed to the orbital facility, and will act as a lifeboat in case of emergency. It will deliver RosCosmos astronauts Alexander Skvortsov – Expedition 23 flight engineer and Expedition 24 commander, and Mikhail Kornienko Expedition 23/24 flight engineer. Also on the spacecraft will be NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, who will act as a flight engineer for Expeditions 23 and 24 as well. The rest of the crew, ISS Commander Oleg Kotov, along with flight engineers T.J. Creamer and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, are already waiting for them in low-Earth orbit (LEO).
After Discovery launches on April 5, it will reach the ISS on April 7. At that time, 13 astronauts will be flying simultaneously around our planet. The American shuttle experienced another minor glitch recently, but its launch schedule is unlikely to be affected. “A leak was detected in the Water Processing Assembly following inspections made by the crew and specialists in Mission Control this week. Spare parts for the mechanism will be delivered on Discovery and a replacement will likely have to be made. The crew will set up an alternative method to deliver water for drinking using a hose system and collapsible water containment bags hooked up to the Potable Water Dispenser. They also will get water from the Russian segment of the station,” NASA experts say.