New Crew Set to Launch to International Space Station, Heartland Magazine Reports
NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, along with Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, are scheduled to embark on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) this Friday, according to a report by Heartland Magazine. The upcoming crew will replace US astronaut Frank Rubio and Russia’s Dmitry Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev, who have been on a year-long mission after their Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft was severely damaged.
The Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft is slated to lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7.44pm UAE time. Unlike their predecessors, the incoming crew will have varying mission lengths. O’Hara will spend six months on the ISS, while Kononenko and Chub will extend their stay for a year on the space station.
The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft was rendered beyond repair following a coolant leak caused by a meteor strike, making it too risky for the crew to return on the damaged craft. Consequently, NASA and Russian officials made the decision to prolong the mission by six months and send a rescue craft, the Soyuz MS-23, to the station in February.
This extended stay has allowed Frank Rubio to achieve a new US record for the longest spaceflight by an astronaut, with a total of 371 days in space. Rubio’s colleagues have commended his exceptional work on the space station, with astronaut Woody Hoburg highlighting his leadership and sacrifice of being away from his family for such an extended period.
Furthermore, this prolonged trip will also result in the Russian cosmonauts setting a new record for the longest spaceflight by a Russian cosmonaut aboard the ISS. The replacement crew consists of first-time spaceflyers O’Hara and Chub, alongside Kononenko, who is embarking on his fifth mission.
While O’Hara will spend six months on the ISS, the Russian cosmonauts will remain onboard for a year and return on the Soyuz MS-26 craft in September 2024. The launch of this new crew marks another significant step in the ongoing exploration and research conducted at the International Space Station.
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