Status: 09/21/2022 5:22 p.m
In times of severe political tension, a US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts launched together to the ISS. The crew colleagues did not talk about the war in Ukraine beforehand.
It is the first joint flight since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine on February 24: A US astronaut and two Russians took off into space with a Soyuz launch vehicle. Cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio lifted off in the capsule at 15:55 CEST from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in the steppes of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia.
The Russian space agency Roskosmos showed the launch to the International Space Station ISS in a live broadcast. NASA spoke of a “good start into the sunset”. “The crew is fine,” said a NASA commentator.
All stages of the launch vehicle ignited smoothly, it said. The solar sails on the Soyuz capsule would have unfolded “perfectly” for the onward flight to the ISS. The flight to the outpost of mankind at an altitude of 400 kilometers should take around three hours.
Supplies on board – and family photos
The crew also has 120 kilograms of resupply material for the ISS on board, including hygiene and medical supplies, scientific apparatus and personal belongings of the cosmonauts. The 46-year-old Rubio said in Baikonur before the start that he was looking forward to the view of the earth from up there. He was excited about the “darkness and how the stars look from there”.
The hardest thing for him personally will be the long separation from his wife and four children, said Los Angeles-born astronaut Rubio, who has been with NASA since 2017 and is now flying into space for the first time. He will take a few family photos with him to the ISS. “It’s an honor for me to follow in the footsteps of previous astronauts,” he said before launch.
Rubio had previously said that space travel is a way of working together, even in times of political tension. The crew did not talk about the war in advance, but mainly about personal things and the everyday life of astronauts. Everyone made it clear that they would miss their families most of all during the six months on the ISS.
Prokopyev: “We all play football”
Before the start of the 68th ISS mission, cosmonaut Prokopyev said: “The program is pretty full – in addition to quick docking, five exits into space are planned.” In addition, 48 experiments are planned, including working with a 3D printer in zero gravity.
While Petelin and Rubio are flying for the first time, it is Prokopyev’s second flight into space. He said: “We all play football. We will surely find a ball in space.” He himself has played tennis and badminton in zero gravity. Otherwise, the daily routine is the same as on Earth: work during the day, night rest is from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. “I sleep better than on Earth,” said the 47-year-old.
Cooperation on the ISS still questionable
The three astronauts will not be alone on the ISS: the commander of the 67th expedition, the Russian Oleg Artemyev, the cosmonauts Denis Matveyev and Sergey Korsakov and the NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, Jessica Watkins and the Italian are already on board Samantha Cristoforetti from the European Space Agency ESA.
In October, the Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina is to fly from the USA to the ISS on board a “Crew Dragon” capsule from Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. The flights should give hope that the cooperation on the ISS will continue for years to come. Russia had recently announced that it would exit the project after 2024, but did not give a date.