Space
Expedition 39/40 Crew’s Arrival at the International Space Station Delayed
Benita Matilda
First Posted: Mar 26, 2014 08:54 AM EDT
The arrival of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying the Expedition 39 crew members at the International Space Station is delayed by two days due to some technical glitch.
The trio aboard the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft faced an unprecedented delay as the spacecraft was unable to complete the third thruster burn on its approach to its designated orbit. The crew consisting of two Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut now look forward to a Thursday's arrival on the space station, NASA announced.
The crew members consist of Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineers Oleg Artemyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Steve Swanson of NASA. This technical glitch has not caused any damage to the astronauts and they continue to stay in good spirits. The team aboard the ISS is well informed about the new plan.
"The crew is fine, but the ground teams are taking a look at what exactly happened aboard the Soyuz and what caused that [engine] burn to be skipped," Josh Byerly, a NASA spokesperson, was quoted in IB Times. "The Soyuz has enough supplies for the crew to last more than two days, if necessary."
The crew members were earlier expected to dock at 11.05 p.m. EDT Tuesday night. But the glitch led to a delay. The flight controllers based at the Mission Control Center outside Moscow are reverting to a backup 34-orbit rendezvous. This would help the crew to arrive at the space station on Thursday and dock at 7.58 pm.
The docking will take place at the station's Poisk docking module. The trio will join Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to command the space station, Rick Mastracchio of NASA and Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos.
During the six month stay, the crew members will conduct several scientific investigations and technology demonstrations.
The crew is expected to return to Earth in September as Expedition 40 crew members.
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First Posted: Mar 26, 2014 08:54 AM EDT
The arrival of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying the Expedition 39 crew members at the International Space Station is delayed by two days due to some technical glitch.
The trio aboard the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft faced an unprecedented delay as the spacecraft was unable to complete the third thruster burn on its approach to its designated orbit. The crew consisting of two Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut now look forward to a Thursday's arrival on the space station, NASA announced.
The crew members consist of Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineers Oleg Artemyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Steve Swanson of NASA. This technical glitch has not caused any damage to the astronauts and they continue to stay in good spirits. The team aboard the ISS is well informed about the new plan.
"The crew is fine, but the ground teams are taking a look at what exactly happened aboard the Soyuz and what caused that [engine] burn to be skipped," Josh Byerly, a NASA spokesperson, was quoted in IB Times. "The Soyuz has enough supplies for the crew to last more than two days, if necessary."
The crew members were earlier expected to dock at 11.05 p.m. EDT Tuesday night. But the glitch led to a delay. The flight controllers based at the Mission Control Center outside Moscow are reverting to a backup 34-orbit rendezvous. This would help the crew to arrive at the space station on Thursday and dock at 7.58 pm.
The docking will take place at the station's Poisk docking module. The trio will join Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to command the space station, Rick Mastracchio of NASA and Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos.
During the six month stay, the crew members will conduct several scientific investigations and technology demonstrations.
The crew is expected to return to Earth in September as Expedition 40 crew members.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone