Next Station Crew Prepares for Launch

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Expedition 39/40 Activities from the Baikonur Cosmodrome

At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 39/40 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Steve Swanson of NASA and Flight Engineer Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos participated in a variety of activities from March 13-19 as they prepared for launch to the International Space Station on March 26, Kazakh time, in the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft. The video includes the crew's arrival in Baikonur and a dress rehearsal fit check in their Soyuz spacecraft.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Next Space Station crew closing in on launch

As it winds down to a late March launch to the International Space Station, the Expedition 39/40 crew, including NASA astronaut Steve Swanson, continues to train at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the six-hour trip to orbit.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Expedition 39/40 Crew Preps for Launch to Station

Expedition 39/40 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), NASA Flight Engineer Steve Swanson and Flight Engineer Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos participated in a final "fit check" dress rehearsal in their Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft and conducted other pre-launch activities at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan March 21 as they prepared for their launch to the International Space Station on March 26, Kazakh time for a six-month mission on the orbital outpost.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia

[Waspie_Dwarf]

New Station Crew Wrapping Up Training for Launch

Three new Expedition 39 crew members wrapped up training Friday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as they prepare for next week’s launch to join Commander Koichi Wakata and Flight Engineers Rick Mastracchio and Mikhail Tyurin aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Steve Swanson and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev inspected the Soyuz TMA-12M that will carry them on an express, six-hour journey to the station on Tuesday. The trio checked out the seats and the interior configuration of the Soyuz in advance of its being rolled out to the launch pad.

Read more...

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Next Space Station crew gets comfy prior to launch

Among the activities scheduled for the Expedition 39/40 crew as closes in on its launch to the International Space Station is a final "fit check" in the Soyuz spacecraft that will take them to the ISS. NASA Flight Engineer Steve Swanson and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineer Oleg Artemyev of Russian Federal Space Agency launch to the ISS on March 25 Eastern Daylight Time (March 26, Kazakhstan time).

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Ready to go

With the move of its Soyuz spacecraft and booster to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 23, the Expedition 39/40 crew is a step closer to a March 25 Eastern Daylight Time (March 26, Kazakhstan time) launch to The International Space Station. NASA Astronaut Steve Swanson and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev are headed to the space station for a six month mission.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Expedition 39 Crew Profile

A profile of the newest members of the Expedition 39 crew, NASA astronaut Steve Swanson and cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemiev, covering their educational and professional backgrounds and their reasons for pursuing a career in human space exploration.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Expedition 39 Counts Down to Soyuz and Dragon Launches

A new Expedition 39 trio waits at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for its launch Tuesday night to the International Space Station. The SpaceX Falcon rocket carrying the Dragon commercial cargo craft awaits its launch planned for Sunday evening from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

New Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov, Steve Swanson and Oleg Artemyev will launch aboard a Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft at 5:17 p.m. EDT for a six-hour ride to the orbital laboratory. Their rocket rolled out to the launch pad Sunday morning and has been raised into its vertical launch position.

Read more...