KAZAKHSTAN (BNO NEWS) – The Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft carrying two Russian astronauts and one American launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station (ISS) on early Friday morning. At approximately 5.10 a.m. local time, the Russian spacecraft departed towards the ISS, carrying NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka. The mission is controlled by the Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) which assured that the crew is ready to fly the new, modified Soyuz rocket.
"For the Soyuz commander, Alexander Kaleri, it’s his 4th trip to space," Roscosmos Head Anatoly Perminov said. "Skripochka is to make his first mission, but the combination of this two will lead to positive result, I believe. Scott is also an experienced astronaut. They are ready for the mission."
The spacecraft is scheduled to dock at the ISS on early Saturday. They will join Expedition 25 crewmates Doug Wheelock, a NASA astronaut and ISS commander, NASA astronaut Shannon Walker and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, who have been aboard the station since June 17.
According to ROSCOSMOS, the mission will perform operational support for docking of Space Shuttle orbiter and to the Space Station's functionality. The team, now consisting of 6 astronauts will also perform science and application research program and experiments, including fundamental physics, biometric experiments and investigations of crystal growth in space.
Soyuz TMA-01M is a new Russian model and was designed to replace Soyuz TMA spacecraft currently in use. The launch was special due to modifications of the vehicle which does not contain analogue systems any more.
Such systems were replaced with digital ones in order to save mass and enhance reliability. The new spacecraft has newly equipped in-flight measurement systems, new guidance, navigation and control equipment. The weight of the spacecraft was reduced by 70 kg (154 lbs).
"Only Russian technologies are applied in the Soyuz. We got rid of analogue systems which could cause any anomaly, as it happened recently during failed departure of the Soyuz with the previous ISS crew. Digital systems applied everywhere, so we also use the up-to-date approach in the rocket and space industry," Perminov added.
