Soyuz MS-18

Soyuz MS-18
Y. A. Gagarin launches atop a Soyuz-2.1a
NamesISS 64S
Mission typeCrewed mission to ISS
OperatorRoscosmos
COSPAR ID2021-029A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.48159
Mission duration190 days, 20 hours and 53 minutes
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSoyuz MS no. 748 Y. A. Gagarin
Spacecraft typeSoyuz MS
ManufacturerRSC Energia
Crew
Crew size3
Launching
Landing
CallsignKazbek
Start of mission
Launch date9 April 2021, 07:42:41 UTC
RocketSoyuz-2.1a
Launch siteBaikonur Cosmodrome, Site 31
ContractorProgress Rocket Space Centre
End of mission
Landing date17 October 2021, 04:35:44 UTC
Landing siteKazakh Steppe, Kazakhstan
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking portRassvet nadir
Docking date9 April 2021, 11:05 UTC
Undocking date28 September 2021, 12:21 UTC
Time docked172 days, 1 hour and 16 minutes
Docking with ISS (Relocation)
Docking portNauka nadir
Docking date28 September 2021, 13:04 UTC
Undocking date17 October 2021, 01:14:00 UTC
Time docked18 days, 12 hours and 10 minutes

Mark Vande Hei, Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov 

Soyuz MS-18 (spacecraft named "Y. A. Gagarin") was a Soyuz spaceflight that was launched on 9 April 2021 at 07:42:41 UTC. It transported three members of the Expedition 64 crew to the International Space Station (ISS). Soyuz MS-18 was the 146th crewed flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. The launching crew consisted of a Russian commander, a Russian flight engineer, and an American flight engineer of NASA. The spacecraft returned to Earth on 17 October 2021 following 191 days in space. The flight served as the landing vehicle for the Russian film director Klim Shipenko and actress Yulia Peresild who launched to the ISS aboard Soyuz MS-19 and spent twelve days in space in order to film a movie, Vyzov (Russian: Вызов, lit.'The Challenge').

On 9 March 2021, Roscosmos announced that, at NASA's request, they would alter the existing flight plan to include Mark Vande Hei instead of Sergei Korsakov in the main crew and Anne McClain instead of Dmitriy Petelin in the backup one effectively extending NASA astronauts' flights on Soyuz spacecraft for at least another flight. This arrangement was an in-kind service for the supplemental crew transportation service between NASA and Roscosmos, without any financial exchange between the two agencies.

Crew

Prime crew
Position Launching Crew member Landing Crew member
Commander Russia Oleg Novitsky, Roscosmos
Expedition 64/65
Third spaceflight
Flight Engineer/Spaceflight Participant 1 Russia Pyotr Dubrov, Roscosmos
Expedition 64/65/66
First spaceflight
Russia Klim Shipenko, Channel 1
Film The Challenge (Vyzov)
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer/Spaceflight Participant 2 United States Mark T. Vande Hei, NASA
Expedition 64/65/66
Second spaceflight
Russia Yulia Peresild, Channel 1
Film The Challenge (Vyzov)
First spaceflight
Backup crew
Position Crew member
Commander Russia Anton Shkaplerov, Roscosmos
Flight Engineer 1 Russia Oleg Artemyev, Roscosmos
Flight Engineer 2 United States Anne McClain, NASA

Expansion of Russian Orbital Segment

Artist's impression of the ERA attached to the Nauka module (left). The spare joint is attached to the Rassvet module (right).

The Soyuz MS-18 crew arrived at ISS on 9 April 2021, well ahead of the launch and docking of Nauka module launching on a Proton-M launch vehicle on 21 July 2021 that carried a portion of the European Robotic Arm (ERA). A spacewalk was undertaken by Expedition 65 (Soyuz MS-18 crew members) to prepare the ISS Russian Segment for Nauka and ERA installation in the summer of 2021. Two other spacewalks for outfitting Nauka were also conducted by Soyuz MS-18 crew members.

ISS russian orbital segment after docking of UM Prichal module

The UM Prichal module launched to the International Space Station on 24 November 2021 with Progress M-UM. One port on Prichal is equipped with an active hybrid docking port, which enables docking with the Nauka module. The remaining five ports are passive hybrids, enabling docking of Soyuz and Progress vehicles, as well as heavier modules and future spacecraft with modified docking systems.

The Prichal module was the second addition to the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) in 2021.

Soyuz MS-18 crew with Expedition 64 crew.
Soyuz MS-18 docked to Nauka after relocation.

Engine firing incident

On 15 October 2021, at 09:02 UTC, during preparation of the ship's propulsion system for landing, the Soyuz MS-18 inadvertently fired its thrusters beyond its planned time, which resulted in changing the orientation of the ISS by as much as 57°, at 09:13 UTC. The station's attitude control system then counteracted that motion by activating thrusters of the Russian Segment. The erroneous firing of Soyuz engines was the result of a procedural error in the instructions sent by mission control to Oleg Novitsky ahead of the test. Fortunately, the flight control system aboard the Soyuz spacecraft had a limit set for the engine testing, which generated a cutoff command as soon as the firing consumed all the propellant allocated for the test. As a result, all the propellant reserves aboard the spacecraft needed for landing remained untouched. The crew was not in danger and it was the second such incident since the loss of control of Nauka on 29 July 2021.

Return

The director and actress returned to Earth on 17 October 2021 on Soyuz MS-18 with commander Oleg Novitsky. Cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov and astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who arrived at the ISS on Soyuz MS-18, joined Shkaplerov on the landing of Soyuz MS-19.


This page was last updated at 2024-03-25 18:57 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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