International Space Station Expedition 26 Blasts Off, Due at Station on Friday

Flight Engineers Dmitry Kondratyev, Catherine Coleman and Paolo Nespoli are on their way to the International Space Station after a winning launch aboard their Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazkhstan.

They are set to pier to the station’s Rassvet mini-research module Friday at 3:12 p.m. EST. Communications between the Mission Control Center in Moscow and the Soyuz were briefly disrupted Thursday afternoon. Communication has been restored, and the crew never was in danger.

MCC-M has limited contact with Soyuz only over Russian ground stations, and some of the communications passes were disrupted because a cut cable between Moscow and Russian ground sites prevented voice communications, command and some telemetry data from being relayed. The ground stations always had communications with the Soyuz, and Mission Control was able to call the ground sites and gain communications with the Soyuz.

At 2:48 p.m. the Soyuz crew accomplished the DV-3 burn to adjust its trajectory toward the station. The crew reported the burn was normal, and Mission Control confirmed it was a good burn. After the hatches between the two spacecraft are opened, the crew members will participate in a conventional greeting ceremony, talk to family and officials on the ground then be briefed on station safety procedures.