The Soyuz MS-22 rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 68 astronaut Frank Rubio of NASA and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos aboard, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin will spend approximately six months in the orbital complex, returning to Earth in March 2023.
Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and two cosmonauts arrived on the International Space Station on Wednesday, bringing the number of residents to 10 next week.
The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft carrying Rubio, as well as Roscosmos’ Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, docked at the stations Rassvet module at 13:06. EDT After two orbits, docking occurred about three hours after a 9:54 a.m. launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin will join the Expedition 67 crew when the hatches open around 3:45 p.m. Expedition 68 will begin on Thursday, September 29 with the departure of Roscosmos cosmonauts Denis Matveev, Sergey Korsakov and outgoing station commander Oleg Artemyev. The trio will land in Kazakhstan after a six-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory.
This is the first space flight for Rubio, the second for Prokopyev and the first for Petelin. During their six-month stay aboard the orbital outpost, the trio will work on science and research in technology development, Earth science, biology, human research and more.
During Expedition 68, the arrival of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 aboard the Dragon Endurance will bring four more crew members to the space station. This crew is currently scheduled for launch on Monday, October 3 for a brief handover period with the Crew-4 astronauts before their return to Earth shortly thereafter.
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