Expedition 66 Thread

[TALsite]

Completed ISS flight events
UTC time is used in table


Current schedule of ISS flight events
UTC time is used in table

2021
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April  9 - Soyuz MS-18 (64S) launch and docking (to Rassvet) [Exp 65/66: Novitsky, Dubrov,   Korsakov   Vande Hei]
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July 23 - MLM-U Nauka docking (to Zvezda nadir)
NET July - release of satellite Binar 1
August - spacewalk (ISS Russian EVA-49) (cables connections between MLM-U Nauka and Zvezda) [Novitsky, Dubrov,   Korsakov ]
August - spacewalk (ISS Russian EVA-50) (cables connections between MLM-U Nauka and Zvezda) [Novitsky, Dubrov,   Korsakov ]
August-September - spacewalk (ISS Russian EVA-51) (ERA) [Novitsky, Dubrov,   Korsakov ]
August-September - spacewalk (ISS Russian EVA-52) (ERA)  [Novitsky, Dubrov]
August    12   18 - Dragon v2 (SpX-23) launch (or September 1)
August    12   18 - Dragon v2 (SpX-23)  docking (to Harmony PMA 2 / IDA 2) (or September 2)
September 12 - Dragon v2 (SpX-23)  undocking (from Harmony PMA 2 / IDA 2) (or September 30)
September 12 - Dragon v2 (SpX-23) splashdown (or September 30)
September   12   13 - Dragon v2 Crew-3 (USCV-3) launch and docking (to Harmony PMA 2 / IDA 2) [Marshburn, Chari, astronaut, Maurer]
September 25 - Soyuz MS-18 (64S) undocking (from Rassvet) and docking (to Poisk)  [Exp 65/66: Novitsky, Dubrov,   Korsakov   Vande Hei]
September 27 - Dragon v2 Crew-2 (USCV-2) undocking (from Harmony PMA 3 / IDA 3) and splashdown [Kimbrough, McArthur, Pesquet, Hoshide]
September 30 - Dragon v2 Crew-3 (USCV-3) undocking (from Harmony PMA-2 / IDA 2) and docking (to Harmony PMA-3 / IDA 3) [Marshburn, Chari, astronaut, Maurer]
September - spacewalk (ISS Russian EVA-53) (MLM-U Nauka radiator) [Novitsky, Dubrov]
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Changes on February 13th
Changes on February 15th
Changes on February 17th
Changes on February 18th
Changes on February 19th
Changes on February 22th
Changes on February 24th

With USCV-1 returned after a safe splashdown, and after three succesful -as we expect- Dragon dockings to the ISS (DM-2, USCV-1 and USCV-2), could be Korsakov cleared to be added to the USCV-3 crew?

I would see this exchange, with Vande Hei in Soyuz MS-18, as a logical step to have Korsakov in orbit ready to assist Dubrov and Novitski with the busy EVA schedule of Nauka activation, that Korsakov has already trained.

[theonlyspace]

Any Expedition 66 patch yet? Any crew picture?

[SMS]

https://twitter.com/esa/status/1384429417141841921

Any news for Exp 66 patch?

[Moonbase_Alphan]

International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 66 mission insignia.

small file and large file

[John_Marshall]

Ooooohh, cool!!

[TALsite]

Rout-ISS 66 !!! 

Awesome

[ddspaceman]

https://twitter.com/AstroMarshburn/status/1391182230026866688

[SMS]

https://twitter.com/marc_dournel/status/1394373426803093507

[John_Marshall]

Has it been announced who the commander will be after Thomas Pesquet?

[SMS]

Has it been announced who the commander will be after Thomas Pesquet?

Should be Russian turn.

unofficial Anton Shkaplerov (4th flight for him). I will ask NASA today afternoon EDT !

[John_Marshall]

Should be Russian turn.

unofficial Anton Shkaplerov (4th flight for him). I will ask NASA today afternoon EDT !

I figured it was him but have been surprised before. Thanks!

[Rondaz]

Participants of the ISS-66 space flight were presented at the CTC

05/24/2021 15:50

Today, May 24, 2021, the management and staff of the Yu.A. Gagarin presented the space flight participants of the long-term expedition ISS-66 and their training program.

By the decision of the Interdepartmental Commission for the Selection of Cosmonauts dated May 14, 2021, the following were appointed to the ISS-66 crews to carry out targeted work on the Russian segment of the International Space Station as space flight participants:

Klim Shipenko  - stage director, playwright;
Julia Peresild  is a theater and film actress.

The backup crew is assigned:

Alexey Dudin  - director of photography;
Alena Mordovina  is a theater and film actress.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov became the commander of the ISS-66 prime crew, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev became his backup.

“We are starting to train ISS-66 crews. For the first time, the functions of space flight participants will be performed by our fellow citizens. The preparation will be carried out on a tight schedule. I am sure that the specialists of the CTC will cope with this task, ”said Acting Head of the CTC Maxim Kharlamov .

The head of the CPSC Denis Yadrentsev said that the training program for space flight participants was standard and also stressed that the only difference was the need to meet in a short time. A little more than four months are left before the start.

“I have experience in filming a film on a space theme and some idea of ​​the device's structure,” said Klim Shipenko , who directed the drama Salyut-7 as a director. "We are ready to start preparing and we hope to master the required amount of knowledge."

Actress Julia Peresild supported her colleague and admitted that she will have to learn everything from scratch.

“The most important thing is that the guys are mentally and physically ready to start classes and trainings. There is a goal, there is an understanding of the process. There is no doubt that the crew will be trained. We have the best instructors in the world and they are in a positive mood, ”emphasized the commander of the ISS-66 prime crew, cosmonaut of Roscosmos Anton Shkaplerov .

The understudies thanked everyone for their trust and said that they were glad to start their studies at the Yu.A. Gagarin. Preparation of space flight participants for an expedition to the ISS is divided into two training sessions.

On May 24, 2021, the first session starts, lasting four weeks. The creative team will study the systems of the Soyuz MS manned spacecraft and the Russian segment of the ISS, will undergo training on the actions of the crew in the event of an abnormal landing of the descent vehicle on the water surface, and will prepare for operator activities in conditions of short-term zero gravity on a laboratory aircraft. Specialists of the Research and Production Enterprise "Zvezda" will make a lodgment for each participant in a space flight.

The second training session is scheduled for the period from July to October 2021 and includes classes in biomedical and complex training, trying on spacesuits, and exam training. The launch of the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft is scheduled for October 2021.

https://www.roscosmos.ru/31152/

[Rondaz]

Cosmonauts are preparing for the next expedition to the ISS

05/25/2021 10:45

On May 14, 2021, the Interdepartmental Commission approved the composition of the main and backup crews of the International Space Station for the period from 2021 to 2023. The closest start should take place in October 2021. This will be the 66th long-term space mission.

Anton Shkaplerov was appointed Commander of the prime crew (ISS flight engineer and ISS-66 commander). It will deliver to the International Space Station Yulia Peresild and Klim Shipenko, an actress and director, who will go into orbit as participants in a space flight to shoot episodes of a feature film, tentatively titled Challenge. The ISS-66 crew backup is Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, director Alexei Dudin and actress Alena Mordovina.

The newcomers will start preparing for the flight next week, and the cosmonauts have already started training at the Yu.A. Gagarin. Anton Shkaplerov, for example, on the complex simulator of the Soyuz MS manned transport spacecraft, practiced a “fast” four-orbit start. During the training, depressurization of the descent vehicle was simulated; in this situation, according to the cyclogram, the cosmonaut and his partner must perform an urgent descent. Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitry Petelin performed the function of a comic flight participant during training.

“Participant in space flight No. 1 is located to the left of the spacecraft commander. His responsibilities include controlling certain valves, which I simply cannot reach, since I am in a spacesuit and will be strapped on during the start. Therefore, even a non-professional flight participant must be technically prepared and psychologically ready for such a development of events. But due to the fact that the flight participant is not a professional cosmonaut, he must perform all actions only at my command, ”explained Anton Shkaplerov .

During the launch of the Soyuz MS-19 manned spacecraft with the crew of the film Call on board, Anton Shkaplerov will be both the commander and flight engineer of the spacecraft.

“Usually the flight engineer monitors the operation of the systems, and the commander controls the ship. I have to take over everything. It will be a new and interesting experience, ”said the cosmonaut, for whom the next expedition will be the fourth in a row.

Oleg Artemiev, Anton Shkaplerov's backup, is also busy preparing for work in orbit. In addition to classes and trainings, he participates in tests at the hydro laboratory of the Cosmonaut Training Center. Together with the German astronaut Mathias Maurer, Oleg Artemiev worked out the skills of extravehicular activities. One of the tasks to be performed in outer space after the launch of the "Science" module will be related to ensuring the operability of the European Robotic Arm installed on the body of the new module.

“In order to activate the manipulator, we have to remove the special rings that fix its 'joints'. In addition, it is necessary to install video cameras to monitor the manipulator's operation and perform other necessary actions, ”said Oleg Artemyev .

According to him, in order to perform these tasks, an astronaut of the European Space Agency must go into outer space in addition to a Russian specialist. Who exactly will be on the ISS at that moment is still unknown. However, traditionally backup cosmonauts are trained not only according to the main crew program, but also work for the future. Each of them is preparing for at least a six-month expedition to the ISS.

https://www.roscosmos.ru/31153/

[Joachim]

Cosmonauts are preparing for the next expedition to the ISS

05/25/2021 10:45
 
Anton Shkaplerov was appointed Commander of the prime crew (ISS flight engineer and ISS-66 commander). It will deliver to the International Space Station Yulia Peresild and Klim Shipenko, an actress and director, who will go into orbit as participants in a space flight to shoot episodes of a feature film, tentatively titled Challenge. The ISS-66 crew backup is Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, director Alexei Dudin and actress Alena Mordovina.

https://www.roscosmos.ru/31153/

So it's clear: Shkaplerov will be ISS-66 commander

[Rondaz]

Actress Peresild began to train in control of the Soyuz spacecraft.

23:34 05/26/2021

MOSCOW, May 26 - RIA Novosti. Actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko conducted the first training session inside the Soyuz MS simulator at the Cosmonaut Training Center .

"We spent 4.5 hours with Klim Shipenko with a little dazed eyes like this ...", Peresild signed a photo on Instagram , where she sits in a spaceship simulator.

"We have already learned a lot, tried it out, but there is still infinity ahead," she wrote.

Earlier it was reported that the film crew of the film "Challenge" and the actors' understudy on Monday began preparations for the flight to the ISS . The launch itself is scheduled for October 5, and the return from orbit is scheduled for October 17.

They will fly to the ISS on the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft together with cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov , and return to Earth on the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft together with cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky .

https://ria.ru/20210526/peresild-1734340818.html

[Rondaz]

The active phase of preparation for the first ever in-orbit surveys has begun

05/27/2021 10:15

Actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko conducted the first tests inside the Soyuz MS spacecraft simulator. The wasp waist of Yulia Peresild is a novelty for design engineers of special equipment for cosmonauts. The actress is noticeably worried, because it is in this spacesuit that she will fly to the International Space Station.

It will be possible to take only 1 kilogram of things with you into space, and the luggage will fly separately in the near future. There is a special set of underwear under the spacesuit. Director Klim Shipenko is in great shape. I had to lose weight by almost 10 kilograms. Take on a flight only if the weight is less than 95.

The first artistic tape in orbit. Channel One, Roscosmos State Corporation and Yellow, Black and White studio are working on the film "Challenge". The main composition of the crew was approved by the State Commission following a thorough medical and creative selection. The film crew will have to master in just a few months what cosmonauts have been preparing for years. Therefore, the film's director Klim Shipenko and the leading actress Yulia Peresild will spend almost every day at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. First, of course, the lectures. And only then practice on the Soyuz spacecraft simulator.

The training of non-professionals on the accelerated program will be in demand in the future to send narrow specialists into orbit: doctors or scientists, according to Roskosmos. Therefore, the shooting of the grandiose film "Challenge" will also turn into a large scientific and educational project. Meanwhile, the first lecture for the film crew has already begun. Complicated.

“For everyone, the situation is unusual now, because there has never been such a short training, and neither for cosmonauts, nor for tourists, including, therefore, we are walking a little by express method, we are moving, we have already been given textbooks, this is such a stack on board engineering and not only. I have already opened these textbooks, nothing but jokes comes to my mind so far. Well, let's try to figure it out, ”says Yulia Peresild .

If all goes according to plan, Shipenko and Peresild will fly into space in October. However, the backup crew will also have to prepare for the flight until the very start. Zero gravity samples, centrifuge, skydiving. Just look, don't lose weight anymore, the designers ask. The suits are already in development.

https://www.roscosmos.ru/31262/

[ddspaceman]

https://twitter.com/AstroMarshburn/status/1403769065194274818

https://twitter.com/astro_matthias/status/1402988930845138955

[Rondaz]

Training @europeanspaceagency w/ @spacex #Crew3 @esamatthiasmaurer @Astro_Kayla & @AstroMarshburn prepping for @iss. GRIP&GRASP experiments @nasaastronauts perform in 0g help scientists study central nervous system & may help treatments for sensory loss from injuries or at birth

https://twitter.com/Astro_Raja/status/1403683741533315072

[Rondaz]

Japanese space tourist begins preparations for a flight to the ISS in Russia.

08:37 15.06.2021

Japanese space tourist Yusaku Maezawa begins preparations for a flight to the ISS in Russia

MOSCOW, June 15 - RIA Novosti. Japanese Yusaku Maezawa said that on Tuesday he would begin preparations in Russia for the December flight on the Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station .

"Training at the Russian Cosmonaut Training Center begins today," he tweeted .

Earlier it was reported that in December 2021, Japanese tourists Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano are expected to fly to the station on the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft.

In 2001-2009, seven tourists were delivered to the International Space Station on the Soyuz spacecraft under contracts with the American company Space Adventures, including the American Charles Simonyi twice.

https://ria.ru/20210615/mks-1737019152.html

[Rondaz]

The CTC hosted a presentation of space flight participants

06/15/2021 16:30

At the Yu.A. Gagarin, on June 15, 2021, the participants of the visiting expedition's space flight were presented to the management and staff of the Center.

By the decision of the interdepartmental commission for the selection of cosmonauts for the VC-20 crews as space flight participants, the main crew were appointed:

Yusaku Maezawa, President of Start Today Corporation.

Businessman and Yozo Hirano, producer, personal assistant to Maezawa Yusaku.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin became the commander of the prime crew.

The backup crew commander is Alexander Skvortsov.

Shun Ogiso, Public Relations Manager of Start Today Corporation, will also take part in the training.

Space flight participants will be trained over two training sessions. The first session began today and will last 4 weeks. During this period, space flight participants will study the systems of the manned Soyuz MS and the Russian segment of the International Space Station. The casting of the lodgement will also be carried out at the Research and Production Enterprise "Zvezda". The second training session is scheduled from September 2021 until the start. During this period, classes in biomedical training, comprehensive training, survival in various climatic and geographical zones, fitting of spacesuits, and comprehensive examination training are provided.

“I would like to thank the Cosmonaut Training Center for the opportunity to gain a unique experience. I promise to make every effort to train in order to justify the confidence of our commander, ” Maezawa Yusaku addressed those present in the hall .

Alexander Misurkin, in turn, noted that when meeting his Japanese colleagues, he felt a charge of energy and a certain focus on success in the upcoming mission.

The head of the coordination and planning service Denis Yadrentsev, who presented the participants in the space flight, assured that the CTC staff have tremendous experience in preparing expeditions to visit the International Space Station. The upcoming visiting expedition, scheduled to start in December, will be the 20th in a row.

https://www.roscosmos.ru/31485/