1424 GMT (10:24 a.m. EDT)
Wiseman is waiting at the external stowage platform for Gerst to arrive with the pump module.
1359 GMT (9:59 a.m. EDT)
The failed pump module, with a mass of about 385 kilograms (850 pounds), is now in the hands of Alexander Gerst after its release from a temporary stowage platform. Gerst will ride the robot arm to the pump module's long-term storage site on External Stowage Platform No. 2.
1354 GMT (9:54 a.m. EDT)
Gerst is now positioned at the pump module's temporary stowage site, known as the POA, on the space station's truss.
1339 GMT (9:39 a.m. EDT)
Astronaut Butch Wilmore is at the controls of the space station's robot arm inside the lab's windowed cupola module. Gerst has now attached himself to the arm's foot restraint in preparation for moving the failed pump module.
1333 GMT (9:33 a.m. EDT)
Gerst has installed the foot restraint onto the space station's robot arm and is preparing to latch himself in.
1303 GMT (9:03 a.m. EDT)
Once they finish gathering tools, the spacewalkers will prepare for today's first major task: the relocation of a failed ammonia pump module from a temporary storage location to a more secure long-term home outside the space station.
First, Wiseman will head to an external stowage platform to prepare it to receive the coolant pump module, which failed last December. Two spacewalks at the end of last year successfully swapped out the failed module for a fresh unit, but the astronauts ran out of time and were not able to more the bad module to a long-term storage location.
The failed module has been mounted on a robot arm transporter on the space station's truss since then.
Gerst will retrieve a foot restraint and attach himself to the end of the space station's 58-foot-long robotic arm to prepare for the pump module move.
Meanwhile, Wiseman will prep for a later task on the spacewalk by moving some wiring for the robot arm's mobile transporter power relay assembly, a system that will be set up once the pump module is moved.
1300 GMT (9:00 a.m. EDT)
Both astronauts are wearing helmet cams for today's spacewalk. The view with the No. 17 in the lower right corner is Wiseman. Gerst's camera is No. 20.
1249 GMT (8:49 a.m. EDT)
Wiseman and Gerst have both exited the Quest airlock. Wiseman is wearing a spacesuit with red stripes and Gerst is wearing the all white suit.
1240 GMT (8:40 a.m. EDT)
Wiseman and Gerst are both on their first spacewalks, and NASA planners have built in a few minutes at the beginning of the EVA to give the astronauts time to adjust to the environment outside the space station.
1231 GMT (8:31 a.m. EDT)
Today's spacewalk officially began at 1230 GMT (8:30 a.m. EDT) as Wiseman and Gerst switched their spacesuits to battery power.
1229 GMT (8:29 a.m. EDT)
With the airlock depressurized, the spacewalkers have opened the Quest module's hatch. The official start of today's EVA will come when the astronauts switch their spacesuits to internal battery power.
1220 GMT (8:20 a.m. EDT)
Astronauts Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst have climbed into their spacesuits, entered the crew lock of the space station's Quest airlock module, and begun depressurization ahead of the start of today's six-and-a-half hour spacewalk.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2014
Space station astronauts will venture outside the complex Tuesday and again next week to move a failed ammonia pump to a more secure storage location, to replace an electrical component that will restore one of the lab's solar power channels to normal operation and to carry out a variety of maintenance tasks.
Read our full story.
0507 GMT (1:07 a.m. EDT)
Welcome aboard! The newest residents have floated into the International Space Station from their Soyuz capsule for welcoming ceremony.
Hatch opening occurred at 1:06 a.m. EDT (0506 GMT).
0320 GMT (11:20 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
Soyuz TMA-14M commander Alexander Samokutyaev reports the spacecraft's port solar array has dislodged and fully extended some time after docking.
"It's fully deployed and as beautiful as they come," Samokutyaev just told mission control in Moscow.
"Now your vehicle is fully awake, finally" a ground controller replied.
0120 GMT (10:20 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
The docking probe on the front of Soyuz has retracted, allowing the hooks and latches to close and form a seal between the capsule and station. Pressure and leak checks will be performed over the next orbit before the hatchway is opened for the crew to enter into the station in a couple of hours.
0215 GMT (10:15 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
Over the next few minutes, the Soyuz docking probe will retract to allow hooks and latches to bring the spacecraft to a firm seal with the station. Hatches between the two vehicles will be opened around 11:55 p.m. EDT (0355 GMT).
0213 GMT (10:13 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
Docking occurred over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador.
0211 GMT (10:11 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
DOCKING! The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft has docked to the Poisk module of the space station, delivering Russian cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova, along with NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore to the international outpost for their five-and-a-half month space mission.
0210 GMT (10:10 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
Standing by for contact and capture momentarily.
0206 GMT (10:06 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
The Soyuz spacecraft is closing in on the Poisk docking port at 0.2 meters per second, or about one-half mile per hour.
0205 GMT (10:05 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
Range is now 72 meters, or 236 feet.
0203 GMT (10:03 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
The Soyuz completed the flyaround to align with the docking port. It's now on a computer-controlled final approach to the space station's Poisk module.
0151 GMT (9:51 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
The flyaround has begun. Soyuz is flying itself around the international outpost to get into the approach corridor leading to the Poisk module's docking port. This flyaround occurs at a range of about 250 meters.
0145 GMT (9:45 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
A camera mounted on the Soyuz spacecraft is now returning images of the space station, which is reported to be in the proper attitude for docking in 30 minutes.
0115 GMT (9:15 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
Other than the stuck solar array, no major problems have been reported during the Soyuz rendezvous sequence. The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft has established a communications link with the International Space Station, the capsule's Kurs navigation radar has been activated, and the automated rendezvous is underway.
Docking with the space station's Earth-facing Rassvet module is set for one hour from now at 0215 GMT (10:15 p.m. EDT).
0025 GMT (8:25 p.m. EDT on Thurs.)
NASA has released the following update:
"Upon reaching its preliminary orbit following a flawless launch, only one of two power-producing solar arrays on the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft deployed. Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev and Flight Engineers Barry Wilmore and Elena Serova are in no danger as they prepare for docking to the space-facing Poisk module of the International Space Station at 10:15 p.m. EDT.
"The crew aboard the Soyuz and Russian flight controllers discussed the status of the spacecraft which is otherwise in perfect shape. Russian engineers believe the Soyuz can reach the International Space Station for a nominal docking later today as they continue to review data and troubleshoot the issue with the port array.
"Two rendezvous burns of the Soyuz engine to fine-tune its path to the station have been conducted normally."
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
2230 GMT (6:30 p.m. EDT)
The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft continues toward docking with the space station's Poisk module at 10:15 p.m. EDT (0215 GMT), despite a failure of one of its solar panels to properly deploy after launch, according to NASA.
2135 GMT (5:35 p.m. EDT)
One of the two power-generating solar arrays aboard the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft did not deploy as planned after the ship arrived in orbit, according to a NASA spokesperson at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Engineers are working to free the stuck port solar panel, but the Soyuz ferry craft can complete its planned four-orbit rendezvous sequence even with power from one array, the spokesperson said.
2055 GMT (4:55 p.m. EDT)
Russian Soyuz commander Alexander Samokutyaev, cosmonaut Elena Serova and NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore have arrived in orbit following a good launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Solar arrays have been unfurled aboard the spacecraft to generate electricity, and the first major orbit-adjustment maneuver is planned for 5:10 p.m. EDT (2110 GMT) to begin raising the capsule's altitude to match that of the space station.
A second "delta velocity" burn is set for 5:44 p.m. EDT (2154 GMT), followed by several more firings over the next few hours to set up for rendezvous and docking.
The 7.9-ton capsule's automated rendezvous sequence, guided by its Kurs radar system, will commence at 8:07 p.m. EDT (0007 GMT).
The Soyuz should be in position to start a flyaround maneuver at range of about 400 meters, or 1,300 feet, at about 9:51 p.m. EDT (0151 GMT) to line up with the docking port on the space station's space-facing Poisk module. Soyuz commander Alexander Samokutyaev will be standing by to take over manual flying of the spacecraft if required. Final approach will begin about 11 minutes before docking, which is scheduled for 10:15 p.m. EDT (0215 GMT).
The docking should occur 5 hours and 50 minutes after liftoff.
2035 GMT (4:35 p.m. EDT)
The craft is completing a programmed sequence to deploy the power-generating solar arrays, as well as antennas for navigational and communication systems.
2034 GMT (4:34 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 9 minutes. CAPSULE SEPARATION! The Soyuz spacecraft is flying free after the upper stage finished its engine firing and then separated away. The capsule is in pursuit of the International Space Station for a planned docking at 10:15 p.m. EDT (0215 GMT).
2033 GMT (4:33 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 8 minutes. About a minute remains in the propulsion by the upper stage. The motor consumes kerosene and liquid oxygen just like the Soyuz rocket's other powerplants.
2032 GMT (4:32 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 7 minutes. The four-nozzle RD-0110 engine of the upper stage continues to burn to put the spacecraft into orbit.
2031 GMT (4:31 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 6 minutes. Soyuz's upper stage is firing to propel the spacecraft into a stable orbital perch around Earth on the six-hour, four-orbit trek to catch the International Space Station.
2030 GMT (4:30 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 5 minutes. The core stage of the Soyuz rocket has shut down and separated at an altitude of approximately 105 miles, leaving the upper stage to complete the job of injecting the Soyuz capsule into orbit.
2029 GMT (4:29 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 4 minutes. The core RD-108A engine continues to fire on its propellant mixture of kerosene fuel and supercold liquid oxygen.
2028 GMT (4:28 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 3 minutes. The safety escape tower and launch shroud have been jettisoned from the atop the Soyuz capsule.
2027 GMT (4:27 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 2 minutes, 10 seconds. The four strap-on boosters clustered around the Soyuz rocket's main stage have burned out and separated. The core engine continues to fire as Soyuz streaks into space at more than 3,300 mph.
2026 GMT (4:26 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 60 seconds. Good performance one minute into this ascent for the Soyuz rocket and its three-person crew from the Kazakh launch base.
Cosmonaut Elena Serova is strapped into the left-hand seat serving as co-pilot, veteran commander Alexander Samokutyaev is in the center seat for his role as the Soyuz commander and NASA Barry "Butch" Wilmore is riding in the right-hand seat.
2025 GMT (4:25 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 30 seconds. Samokutyaev, Serova and Wilmore are beginning a five-and-a-half month expedition in space.
The Soyuz rocket has maneuvered on course for a rendezvous with the space station six hours from now. The station currently is flying 262 miles over southern Russia.
2025 GMT (4:25 p.m. EDT)
LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the Expedition 41 crew en route to the International Space Station for docking in six hours!
2024 GMT (4:24 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 40 seconds. The first umbilical arm has separated from Soyuz. The second will retract in the next few seconds.
2024 GMT (4:24 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 1 minute and counting. The Soyuz has been placed on internal power.
2023 GMT (4:23 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 2 minutes and counting. Rocket propellant tank pressurization is underway. The vehicle's onboard measurement system is activated. Oxidizer and fuel drain and safety valves of the launch vehicle have been closed.
2021 GMT (4:21 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 4 minutes and counting. The nitrogen purge of the combustion chambers of side and central engine pods of the rocket is being performed in preparation for ignition.
2020 GMT (4:20 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 5 minutes and counting. Soyuz has switched to onboard control, the ground measurement system and the capsule commander's controls are being activated.
2019 GMT (4:19 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 6 minutes. The automatic program for final launch operations is being initiated. And the launch key has been inserted in the bunker for liftoff.
Launch is set for 4:25:00 p.m. EDT (2025:00 GMT), the moment Earth's rotation carries the Baikonur Cosmodrome under the International Space Station's ground track.
2016 GMT (4:16 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 9 minutes and counting. The crew has closed its helmet visors.
2015 GMT (4:15 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 10 minutes. The crew inside the Soyuz capsule are starting recorders to collect data during launch.
2011 GMT (4:11 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 14 minutes. The Soyuz telemetry systems are being activated. They will relay real-time data back to Earth during today's launch.
2008 GMT (4:08 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 17 minutes. Now in the launch count, realignment of the Soyuz rocket's trajectory control system and checks of internal batteries should be complete. The Soyuz telemetry system will soon be activated and monitoring of Soyuz's thermal control system also will begin.
2005 GMT (4:05 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 20 minutes and counting. The three-stage Soyuz rocket will insert the 15,700-pound space capsule into a 143 by 118 mile orbit, inclined 51.6 degrees to the equator, according to NASA.
2003 GMT (4:03 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 22 minutes and counting. At the time of launch, the International Space Station will be flying 262 miles over northeast Kazakhstan. When the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft deploys from the Soyuz rocket's third stage, the space station will be flying 2,184 miles ahead of the Soyuz.
The space station will fly almost directly overhead the Baikonur Cosmodrome about three minutes before launch.
The capsule will close that distance over the next six hours, with docking to the space station's Poisk module scheduled for 10:15 p.m. EDT (0215 GMT).
2001 GMT (4:01 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 24 minutes. The crew is completing leak checks of the Sokol launch spacesuits at this point in the countdown.
2000 GMT (4:00 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 25 minutes and counting. The Soyuz rocket will fly northeast from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, jettisoning its launch escape tower 1 minutes, 54 seconds, after liftoff. Four seconds later, the rocket's four liquid-fueled strap-on boosters will separate as the core RD-108A engine, also known as the Block A second stage, continues firing.
The Soyuz launch shroud will release at T+plus 2 minutes, 37 seconds, followed by ignition of the third stage RD-0110 engine and separation of the Soyuz second stage at T+plus 4 minutes, 45 seconds.
The third stage's RD-0110 engine will fire for four minutes to inject the Soyuz spacecraft into orbit. Shutdown is set for T+plus 8 minutes, 45 seconds, followed by separation of the capsule in orbit three seconds later.
A series of communications and navigation antennas will deploy moments later as the Soyuz begins its six-hour chase of the International Space Station.
Docking is set for 10:15 p.m. EDT (0215 GMT).
1958 GMT (3:58 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 27 minutes and counting. The emergency escape system is being armed. The system would be employed if a major malfunction occurs, propelling the Soyuz capsule off the top of the rocket to safety.
1945 GMT (3:45 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 40 minutes and counting. The two-piece service structure which enclosed the Soyuz rocket is being retracted to a horizontal position. The towers protected the rocket and provided workers and the Soyuz crew with access to the spacecraft since the rocket arrived at the launch pad at sunrise Sunday.
Several other umbilical arms connecting the rocket to the ground will be retracted at various times later in the countdown.
1935 GMT (3:35 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 50 minutes and counting. Soyuz TMA-14M commander Alexander Samokutyaev, cosmonaut Elena Serova and NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore were awakened about eight hours ago to begin launch day activities.
They signed the doors at the Cosmonaut Hotel and received religious blessings before boarding a bus that took the three crewmates the 25-mile distance into the cosmodrome. They donned their white Sokol launch and entry suits, met with officials from their respective space agencies and then headed for the pad. Crowds of well-wishers gathered to wave goodbye as the crew reached the rocket. An elevator took the trio up to the capsule-level of the tower to begin climbing aboard the cramped spacecraft.
1930 GMT (3:30 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 55 minutes. Live streaming video coverage of today's rocket flight to orbit begins now.
1855 GMT (2:55 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 90 minutes. The Soyuz rocket is fueled, the crew has traveled to the launch pad and the countdown is progressing toward liftoff of the space station's Expedition 41 crew from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 4:25 p.m. EDT (2025 GMT).
Live launch coverage and commentary begins in the stream at 3:30 p.m. EDT.
1805 GMT (2:05 p.m. EDT)
The three-person crew has arrived at Launch Pad No. 1 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where they will take an elevator ride to the top of the Soyuz rocket to board the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft for liftoff at 2025 GMT (4:25 p.m. EDT).
The crew is led by Alexander Samokutyaev, a 44-year-old Russian Air Force pilot selected as a cosmonaut candidate in 2003. Samokutyaev logged 164 days aboard the International Space Station as flight engineer on the Expedition 27 and Expedition 28 crews in 2011.
Samokutyaev will occupy the capsule's center seat, with rookie Russian cosmonaut Elena Serova and NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore flanking him in the left and right couches.
Serova will be the primary flight engineer, assisting Samokutyaev with control duties during the launch and docking, which is set for 0215 GMT (10:15 p.m. EDT), less than six hours after liftoff.
Making her first spaceflight, Serova is a 38-year-old aerospace test engineer who worked in the Russian space program at the Moscow mission control center before her selection as a cosmonaut candidate in 2006. She will be the first Russian woman to fly to the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore, 51, is making his second flight into space after serving as pilot aboard space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-129 mission in 2009. Wilmore spent nearly 11 days in space on Atlantis, and he will take over as commander of the space station's Expedition 42 mission later this year.
1545 GMT (10:45 a.m. EDT)
An experienced Russian cosmonaut, a NASA shuttle veteran and the first female cosmonaut to be assigned to the International Space Station geared up for launch Thursday aboard a Soyuz ferry craft for a four-orbit flight to the laboratory complex.
Read our full story.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2014
The Soyuz rocket assigned to carry the International Space Station's next three-person crew into orbit rolled out to its launch pad Tuesday in Kazakhstan.
The three-stage rocket is set to launch Thursday (U.S. time) from Launch Pad No. 1, the facility where Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin launched on the first human spaceflight in April 1961.
Russian cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev will command the Soyuz TMA-14M space capsule. Cosmonaut Elena Serova, the first Russian woman to fly to the International Space Station, and veteran NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore will accompany Samokutyaev on the journey.
Tuesday's rollout began at sunrise, with the rocket riding horizontally on a railroad transporter for the trip to the launch pad. Once it arrived, the rocket was hoisted upright over the launch pad's flame trench, and access platforms raised to enclose the launcher.
Liftoff is set for 2025 GMT (4:25 p.m. EDT) Thursday, or 2:25 a.m. local time Friday in Kazakhstan.
Check out photos of the Soyuz rollout.