Soyuz MS-21

Soyuz MS-21 is a Russian Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) with a crew of three launched from Baikonur on 18 March 2022. The launch was previously planned for 30 March 2022, but in the provisional flight manifest prepared by Roscosmos by the end of Summer 2020, the launch of Soyuz MS-21 was advanced to 18 March 2022.[2]

Soyuz MS-21
Soyuz MS-21 docked To ISS
NamesISS 67S
Mission typeCrewed mission to ISS
OperatorRoscosmos
Websitehttp://en.roscosmos.ru/
Mission duration195 days (planned) 42 days (in progress)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSoyuz MS No.750 Korolyov [1]
Spacecraft typeSoyuz MS
ManufacturerRKK Energia
Crew
Crew size3
Members
CallsignDon
Start of mission
Launch date18 March 2022, 15:55:18 UTC[2][3]
RocketSoyuz-2.1a
Launch siteBaikonur Cosmodrome, Site 31
ContractorProgress Rocket Space Centre
End of mission
Landing date29 September 2022 (planned)
Landing siteKazakh Steppe
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking portPrichal nadir
Docking date18 March 2022, 19:12 UTC
Undocking dateSeptember 2022
Time docked41 days

Matveev, Artemyev and Korsakov
 

It was the first mission to the ISS with three Roscosmos cosmonauts.

Crew

The three-Russian member crew were named in May 2021.[4] Although NASA had not decided whether or not they would purchase a seat on the flight, NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara was preparing to replace Sergey Korsakov if the agency decided to buy a seat.[5] Later NASA decided not to acquire a seat on the Soyuz MS-21 launching in March 2022, deferring a NASA Roscosmos seat swap for Soyuz MS-22 and SpaceX Crew-5.[6]

Soyuz MS-21 crew members
Position Crew member
Commander Oleg Artemyev, Roscosmos
Expedition 66/67
Third spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1 Denis Matveev, Roscosmos
Expedition 66/67
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2 Sergey Korsakov, Roscosmos
Expedition 66/67
First spaceflight

Backup crew
Position Crew member
Commander Sergey Prokopyev, Roscosmos
Flight Engineer 1 Dmitriy Petelin, Roscosmos
Flight Engineer 2 Anna Kikina, Roscosmos

Arrival suits

The arriving cosmonauts at the station have gained particular international attention after entering in bright yellow suits with blue elements, having changed before and after into different suits.[7] International commentators saw in these colours the national colours of Ukraine and interpreted the personal choice of suits by the cosmonauts as a sign of their sympathy for Ukraine in the light of the parallel ongoing 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which strained also space cooperation such as the ISS program after international sanctions on Russia.[8] The cosmonauts said when asked about the colours that the yellow suits needed to be used, and Roscosmos followed with a statement that the colours are to be read as the identifying colours of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, which all three cosmonauts graduated from.[7]

References
  1. РОСКОСМОС [@roscosmos] (25 January 2022). "Сам корабль #СоюзМС21 получит собственное имя — «Королёв» — в честь главного конструктора ракетно-космической техники Сергея Королёва — выпускника МГТУ, под руководством которого в Особом конструкторском бюро № 1 (РКК «Энергия») было положено начало семейству кораблей «Союз». t.co/tII8BHZKXb" (Tweet) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Twitter.
  2. Zak, Anatoly (1 December 2020). "Planned Russian space missions in 2022". RussianSpaceWeb.com. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  3. Baylor, Michael (1 December 2020). "Status - Soyuz MS-21". NextSpaceFlight. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  4. "Источник: Кикина будет единственной женщиной в отряде космонавтов". 4 May 2021.
  5. Pavlushchenko, Katya [@katlinegrey] (19 June 2021). "NASA may buy another seat in Soyuz next Spring (#SoyuzMS21), said a source in the space industry. If it happens, it will be occupied by Loral O'Hara @lunarloral, who is currently undergoing an emergency water landing training at the GCTC. t.co/eUsB9W3fOo t.co/NpeVax72cf" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Twitter.
  6. "Rogozin says Crew Dragon safe for Russian cosmonauts". SpaceNews. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  7. "Russia denies cosmonauts board space station in Ukrainian colours". BBC News. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  8. Witze, Alexandra (11 March 2022). "Russia's invasion of Ukraine is redrawing the geopolitics of space". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-022-00727-x. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
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