Soyuz TMA-16M Pre-Launch Processing Commenced at Baikonur
Having launched Soyuz TMA-15M manned transport spacecraft, Baikonur successfully accomplished the manned launched schedule for 2014, and today, the experts of the cosmodrome started the preparation for the next year’s launches: Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft, that has been stored on a technological prop in pad 254 of the cosmodrome, has now been placed into a stand.
The working teams of Korolev Rocket Space Corporation Energia and the Yuzhny Space Center, FSUE TsENKI division, are carrying out the depreservation of the spacecraft, and connecting its equipment to the ground-based check-up system.
After the assembly, the check-up of Soyuz TMA-16M electric systems will begin.
The check-up of the spacecraft will be carried out until the middle of December. During this period, Soyuz TMA-16M will undergo autonomous and complex tests, and tests in the anechoic chamber. After that, the spacecraft will be conserved and will undergo the immediate pre-launch preparation in February, prior to the launch scheduled for March 27.
The crew of Expedition 43/44 will go to the ISS on board Soyuz TMA-16M. The crews consisting of Gennady Padalka (Roscosmos), Mikail Kornienko (Roscosmos), Scott Kelly (NASA), and Alexey Ovchinin (Roscosmos), Sergey Volkov (Roscosmos), and Jeffrey Williams (NASA) are preparing for the flight.
For the first time, during this expedition’s flight, two of the crew members will work one year instead of six months at the ISS.
Official prime and backup crews portraits
From the "Soyuz ST-B Flight VS11 - Galileo FOC-M2 (FM03 and FM04), March 27st 2015" discussion thread
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=34129.0launch time
18:46:18 Local
Clarification: that would be 2 hours after the new ISS 1-year expedition departs Earth (March 27 @ 19:43 UTC), correct?
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=34129.msg1324905#msg1324905
our launch date changed to 27th because of Soyuz TMA-16M, we swapped I assume they launch on the 26th....
The reason for shifting the launch date and time of at least one of the two Soyuz LV lauches was given in an earlier post in the same thread:
Looks like the Russians are asking for a (short) slip to this launch because of conflicting schedules of TsSKB Progress engineers which needs to prepare for the launch of Soyuz TMA-16M, which is currently scheduled on March 27 GMT, meaning that there won't be enough people to work on this down in the Amazon.
I guess this will be a several day slip?
Source: http://www.militarynews.ru/story.asp?rid=1&nid=365001
Will the Soyuz TMA-16M launch date shift to the 26th? Or later? Or is it staying on March 27 19:43 UTC, as currently posted?
Curious,
Zubenelgenubi
Exact lift-off time will be 19:42:59 UTC.
Can anyone confirm which pad this one will use? Has the MIK-112 roof leakage been repaired yet?
Exact lift-off time will be 19:42:59 UTC.
Can anyone confirm which pad this one will use? Has the MIK-112 roof leakage been repaired yet?
MIK-112 is repaired, it was used for Progress M-26M.
This flight should be the first "serial" flight of Kaktus-2V altimeter, which has been tested on Soyuz TMA-08M and Soyuz TMA-09M.