The Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft was successfully launched yesterday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan; it transported NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Expedition 74.
Screen cap from webcast
Here is the video from NASA of the docking of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft at the ISS.
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Astronauts currently onboard the ISS -
Front left to right:
- Jonny Kim - NASA
- Sergey Ryzhikov - Roscosmos
- Alexey Zubritsky - Roscosmos
Back left to right:
- Oleg Platonov - Roscosmos
- Michael Fincke - NASA
- Zena Cardman - NASA
- Kimiya Yui - JAXA
The new arrivals -
Left to right:
- Chris Williams - NASA
- Sergey Kud-Sverchkov - Roscosmos
- Sergei Mikaev - Roscosmos
The current configuration of the International Space Station is shown below.
Seven spacecraft are currently docked at the space station, including Soyuz MS-28. The 8th spacecraft, the Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft, has been temporarily uninstalled from the Harmony module with the Canadarm2 robotic arm until Dec. 1.
Artwork on Soyuz MS-28
The lower section of the Soyuz rocket was adorned with some colorful artwork. The artwork was created by children undergoing cancer treatment from 50 cities across Russia and 14 countries.
The artwork was sponsored by "Rocket of Dreams," a space art therapy program run by the UNITY Foundation, which partners with organizations like Roscosmos and MoonDAO to bring hope to children and adults with cancer.
130 of the children were flown to the launch site to witness the rocket with their artwork lift off to the ISS. What a heartwarming experience that must have been.
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Roscosmos Launch Pad Damage
Unfortunately, during the launch of the Soyuz MS-28 crew vehicle to the ISS, the launch pad in Baikonur suffered some severe damage.
The retractable mobile service platform, which sits underneath the launch pad and is used to service the tail end of the rocket, broke loose and collapsed into the flame duct below the pad into a pile of twisted metal.
Thankfully, the mission itself was successfully and all 3 astronauts arrived safely at the ISS.
It might take months or years to repair it, although Roscosmos made a statement that it can be repaired within a month. Until then, service to the ISS from Russia will be on hold.
China’s Space Station and Rescue Mission
Meanwhile, the Tiangong space station and the Chinese Space Program are doing quite well. Tiangong is slightly over one third the size of the ISS. It has been inhabited by 3 astronauts at a time for over 4 years now.
On Tuesday, China's uncrewed spacecraft Shenzhou-22 arrived at the Tiangong space station after a 3.5 hour journey.
Shenzhou-22 is an emergency flight mounted on a short 16-day timeline because the currently docked Shenzhou-20 spacecraft suffered some damage due to space debris.
Shenzhou-22 will bring back the 3 astronauts onboard Tiangong at the end of their mission in early 2026. More details at www.space.com/...
It's a feat unmatched by any other space-faring nation — successfully launching a spacecraft with human transport capability on such short notice.
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The Future of Launches to the ISS
Currently, the only spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts to/from the ISS are the Roscosmos Soyuz and the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. Spacecraft from JAXA and Northrop Grumman are also used for transporting supplies.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft should have been a 3rd option for ferrying crew and cargo to/from the ISS, but it failed in its mission last year, when it developed fuel leaks after arriving at the ISS with 3 astronauts; it returned without any crew members. Its next mission will be in April 2026, but it be will be a cargo-only flight as it needs to be re-certified for crewed missions.
With the damage at the Baikonur launch site, the only option available for the foreseeable future is SpaceX.
The Future of the ISS
After 27 years in orbit, the International Space Station is getting old and creaky. Funding for it is a challenge, given new priorities for crewed missions to the moon and Mars.
It was planned to be deorbited in 2016.
Russia has stated that it plans to pull out of the ISS program after 2025.
NASA now plans to de-orbit it in 2030/2031; it will get destroyed during reentry.
There is no follow-on mission by NASA. The dream/nightmare is of a future with a fleet of planned privately-owned commercial space stations, which NASA can lease facilities from.
NASA is suggesting to extend ISS operations beyond 2031 if Commercial LEO Destinations providers fail to provide services by 2031.
In February this year, Elon Musk suggested in a tweet that the ISS should be de-orbited "two years from now" as Musk believes the station has "served its purpose" and has "very little incremental utility". Musk wants funding for rockets, not science.
Epilogue
The fate and mission priorities of NASA have always been dependent on the whims of Congress and those of the occupants of the White House.
The future of the space station program and that of NASA itself is grim, given the troglodytes now in charge of the White House and Congress, who have slashed NASA’s budget by over 25%. Their objectives are not the pursuit of science but the pursuit of power and money for themselves and their billionaire enablers.
