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Russian Soyuz Rocket Ready for Second Attempt to Send Astronauts to ISS
A Russian Soyuz rocket is now set to launch three astronauts toward the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, following a rare abort during its initial try. The rocket, originally scheduled to carry the crewed Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday, experienced an unexpected voltage drop just 21 seconds before liftoff, resulting in the postponement of the mission.
The issue has since been resolved to the satisfaction of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, which has rescheduled liftoff for 8:36 a.m. EDT on Saturday. NASA and Roscosmos will provide live coverage of the event on Space.com.
Mission Details
The Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft will transport NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Roscosmos’ Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus to the ISS. Upon successful liftoff, the crew is expected to reach the station on Monday morning and dock at the Prichal module at 11:09 a.m. EDT.
Dyson will stay aboard the ISS for approximately 200 days, while Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya will return to Earth after a shorter 12-day mission. Vasilevskaya, a flight attendant, will make history as the first Belarusian woman in space.
Additional Updates
Despite the Soyuz MS-25 abort, SpaceX’s Dragon capsule launched toward the ISS on Thursday, carried by a Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon capsule is delivering about 3 tons of supplies, food, and scientific equipment to the station as part of SpaceX’s 30th mission under its agreement with NASA. The capsule is expected to dock with the ISS on Saturday, shortly before the Soyuz MS-25 mission takes off.
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