Soyuz MS-18 – Spaceflight Now

Soyuz crew welcomed aboard International Space Station

April 9, 2021 William Harwood

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and two cosmonauts blasted off from Kazakhstan Friday and docked with the International Space Station after a two-orbit chase, the first step in a record crew rotation requiring two launches and two landings with four different spacecraft in just three weeks.

Live coverage: Soyuz launches with next space station crew

April 9, 2021 Stephen Clark

Veteran Russian commander Oleg Novitskiy, rookie flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei launched into orbit Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3:42 a.m. EDT (0742 GMT). The crew members rode a Soyuz capsule in pursuit of the International Space Station, where docking occurred at 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT).

NASA astronaut, two cosmonauts set for launch to space station

April 8, 2021 William Harwood

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and two Russian cosmonauts will ride a Soyuz ferry ship to the International Space Station early Friday, the first step in a record crew rotation requiring two launches and two landings with four different spacecraft in just three weeks.

Busy month of crew rotations on tap at International Space Station

April 1, 2021 Stephen Clark

Seven astronauts and cosmonauts are gearing up for launches April 9 and April 22 to the International Space Station, replacing seven outgoing crew members set to land in Kazakhstan and off the coast of Florida on April 17 and April 28.

NASA astronaut joins Russian Soyuz crew for April flight to space station

March 9, 2021 William Harwood

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, veteran of a 168-day stay in space in 2017-18, will join two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Soyuz spacecraft April 9 for a flight back to the International Space Station in a deal brokered through Houston-based Axiom Space, NASA and the Russian space agency announced Tuesday.

NASA seeking astronaut seat on Soyuz launch in April

February 11, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA wants to fly an astronaut on Russia’s next Soyuz mission to the International Space Station in April, a measure the agency says would ensure a continued U.S. presence on the research outpost in case of delays in the launch of SpaceX’s next Crew Dragon flight.