three astronauts set for iss blastoff
Tuesday 29 July 2025
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

From the Baikonur cosmodrome

Three astronauts set for ISS blast-off

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Three astronauts set for ISS blast-off

Two US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut
Baikonur - Emirates Voice

Two US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut were set to blast off for  the International Space Station Tuesday in a late-night launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan
Alexander Misurkin of the Russian space agency, NASA first-time flyer Mark Vande Hei and veteran colleague Joe Acaba prepared to set off for a mission of more than five months aboard the ISS at 2117 GMT.
The Soyuz spacecraft is expected to dock at around 0300 GMT on Wednesday.
As NASA beefs up its crew in space, the launch will mark the first occasion two US astronauts have blasted off together on a mission to the ISS from Russia's Baikonur since June 2010.
The American space agency stopped its own manned launches to the ISS in 2011 but recently moved to increase its crew complement aboard the orbital lab as the Russians cut theirs in a cost-saving measure announced last year.
Acaba, 50, has spent nearly 138 days in space over two missions. Rookie Vande Hei, 50, served with the US army in Iraq prior to training as an astronaut. Misurkin, 39, who is beginning his second mission aboard the ISS, also has a military background.
Speaking at the pre-launch news conference on Monday, Acaba, who is of Puerto Rican heritage, said he would be taking some "musica Latina" on board to lift his crewmates' spirits. 
"I can guarantee my crewmates they will not fall asleep during that music and if you want to dance at about 3 am tuned into our Soyuz capsule I think you'll enjoy it," he told journalists.
- 'Praying for people' -
The launch has been overshadowed by deadly storms that have battered the Caribbean and the southern half of the United States. 
External cameras on the ISS captured footage of hurricane Irma last week brewing over the Atantic as it prepared to wreak deadly havoc. 
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston said earlier this month it suffered  "significant" damage during Hurricane Harvey, although Mission Control remained operational.
Vande Hei struck a sombre note in his pre-launch tweet on Monday.
"L-2 days. Sunrise over Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Praying for the people of Florida as well as the continued recovery of the Texas Gulf Coast," he said.
Space is one of the few areas of international cooperation between Russia and the US that has not been wrecked by tensions over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.
The ISS orbits the Earth at a height of about 250 miles (400 kilometres), circling the planet every 90 minutes at a speed of about 17,500 miles (28,000 kilometres) per hour.

GMT 10:08 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

Microsoft to open 4 data centres

GMT 06:12 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Instagram, Google+ join EU group

GMT 05:06 2018 Monday ,22 January

Rocket Lab successfully sends rocket

GMT 09:03 2018 Sunday ,21 January

Europe's space agency braces

GMT 06:19 2018 Sunday ,21 January

A fake news article reports

GMT 04:17 2018 Saturday ,20 January

Google, Tencent eye collaboration

GMT 06:00 2018 Friday ,19 January

Australia lifesaving drone makes first rescue

GMT 07:36 2018 Thursday ,18 January

French glitches put technology under review
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

three astronauts set for iss blastoff three astronauts set for iss blastoff

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

three astronauts set for iss blastoff three astronauts set for iss blastoff

 



GMT 10:31 2014 Tuesday ,23 December

Mirages of failure: Lebanon cannot wait

GMT 12:46 2017 Saturday ,22 July

Khalid bin Hamad League hailed

GMT 07:48 2017 Monday ,11 September

Froome completes historic Tour-Vuelta double

GMT 09:04 2017 Monday ,27 November

Merkel battles to stay in power

GMT 18:55 2017 Tuesday ,12 September

Top 10 masterpieces to look out for at Louvre Abu Dhabi

GMT 18:56 2016 Sunday ,16 October

South Korea's Trade Deficit with EU Decreases 10%

GMT 09:20 2017 Sunday ,31 December

Ex-Catalan leader demands regional govt be reinstated

GMT 07:44 2017 Wednesday ,08 November

AUS wins top awards at the Sustainable Campus Initiative

GMT 15:26 2017 Wednesday ,22 November

Mnangagwa returns to Zimbabwe, meets officials

GMT 07:32 2017 Tuesday ,31 October

Rowida underlines importance of right choice

GMT 13:36 2014 Tuesday ,23 December

Dubai Police app for e-copies of IDs, driving licence

GMT 23:48 2015 Saturday ,07 February

Anna Kendrick, Shia LaBeouf to be Grammy presenters

GMT 14:21 2014 Friday ,10 January

Saudi to act tough on \'drifters\'

GMT 14:46 2011 Sunday ,23 October

Emirates Airbus A380 makes emergency landing

GMT 20:45 2011 Sunday ,11 September

Qatar\'s Al Jazeera: Egypt offices raided, staff held

GMT 20:03 2011 Wednesday ,24 August

Cartoon Network to rollout 10 new shows a year

GMT 11:28 2016 Thursday ,28 January

Jaap van Zweden, violinist turned maestro

GMT 04:09 2012 Tuesday ,15 May

\'Swamp People\' star Mitchell Guist dies

GMT 09:30 2012 Monday ,02 April

Worthington, Neeson talk \'Titans\' reunion

GMT 04:49 2017 Tuesday ,05 September

Seven Saudi-paid mercenaries killed in Marib
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice