BAIKONUR COSMODROME, September 15The State Commission at the Baikonur Cosmodrome has cleared the Soyuz-2.1a rocket for refueling and further launch, which on Friday will send the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft with two Russians and an American to the International Space Station, a Roscosmos representative told reporters.
““The State Commission at Baikonur made a decision to refuel the Soyuz-2.1a rocket and launch it,” he said.
The main crew of the ship included Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, as well as American astronaut Loral O'Hara. The rocket launch is scheduled for 18.44 Moscow time on September 15. Docking with the ISS should take place at 21.56 Moscow time.
Kononenko and Chub will spend a year on the ISS, O'Hare – six months. About 60 scientific experiments are planned for the Russians, including seven new ones, and up to four spacewalks.
The crew of Soyuz MS-24 will replace Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, as well as American astronaut Frank Rubio, at the station. They arrived at the ISS on September 21, 2022 on the Soyuz MS-22. The cooling system circuit depressurized on the ship, so it was replaced by the Soyuz MS-23, on which Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio will return to Earth on September 27, 2023.
