LIVE: Soyuz-FG launch with Soyuz TMA-20M - March 18, 2016 (21:26 UTC)

[jacqmans]

Today the Soyuz TMA-20M crew received their patches from us (spacepatches.nl) in Star City.

Here the artwork of the Soyuz TMA-20M patch:

The Soyuz TMA-20M patch pays tribute to the origins of heraldry by its use of the classic shield shape. Its fields are divided by band of colors representing the Russian and American flags. The silhouette of a Soyuz spacecraft is at the centre of the shield, which is crowned by an outline of the International Space Station.

Three stars against the blackness of space symbolize the three astronauts of the spaceship, while animals feature in the other three quadrants.

The black bear comes from the coat of arms of the city of Rybinsk, birthplace of spaceship commander Ovchinin. This city on the Volga is also the ‘capital of barge-haulers’, called Burlaks in Russian. ’BURLAK’ is the callsign for the crew of this Soyuz mission.

The American bald eagle, carrying the vector from the NASA logo it its beak, represents American astronaut Williams.

The grey crane with its wings outstretched is for cosmonaut Skripotchka, who used the same bird in the patch of his first flight on board of the first in the current series of Soyuz spacecraft, on this one, the final Soyuz TMA-M.

(Copyright: Roscosmos/spacepatches.nl)

[jacqmans]

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Soyuz TMA-20M prime & backup crew portraits

[jacqmans]

February 18, 2016
RELEASE M16-013

NASA Astronaut Jeff Williams Available for Media Interviews before Launch to Space Station

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams will take time out of the final preparations for his launch to the International Space Station for live satellite media interviews from 7 to 8 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 29, to discuss his upcoming mission aboard the world’s only orbiting laboratory. These interviews will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Williams will participate in the interviews from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, following a 30-minute b-roll feed on NASA TV highlighting his previous missions and ground training, which begins at 6:30 a.m.

To participate, media must contact Karen Svetaka at 281-483-8684 or [email protected] no later than 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26. Media participating in the live shots must tune to NTV-3. Satellite tuning information is available at:

http://go.nasa.gov/1pOWUhR

A native of Winter, Wisconsin, Williams will launch to the space station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft on March 18 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, along with crewmates Oleg Skriprochka and Alexey Ovchinin, cosmonauts with the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

This mission will be Williams’ fourth spaceflight and third long-duration stay on the space station, a first for an American, and will be his first return to the station since its completion in 2011.

Williams served as the flight engineer and lead spacewalker for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-101 mission in 2000. He was a flight engineer for space station’s Expedition 13 in 2006, when the station had only two modules and three crew members. In 2009 and 2010, he served as a flight engineer on Expedition 21 and commanded Expedition 22, when the Tranquility module and cupola were added to the station. During that mission, he also became the first astronaut to interact live with NASA’s social media fans and followers.

During his upcoming six-month mission, Williams will become the American with the most cumulative days in space -- 534 -- surpassing Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly, who will wrap up his one-year mission on March 1.

Williams also is expected to be at the station for arrivals of two American cargo spacecraft -- the SpaceX Dragon and Orbital ATK Cygnus -- as well as the deployment of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), a demonstration of expandable habitat technology that will be attached to the station for two years.

After arriving at the station, Williams, Skriprochka and Ovchinin will join Expedition 47 NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, Roscosmos cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Tim Peake. Together, they will facilitate about 250 research investigations and technology demonstrations, which aren’t possible on Earth, to advance scientific knowledge of Earth, space, physical and biological sciences that will benefit humanity. Station research also will enable future long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space and on the agency’s journey to Mars.

Williams is scheduled to return to Earth with Skripochka and Ovchinin in September.

For NASA TV schedule and video streaming information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Follow Williams on social media at:

https://twitter.com/Astro_Jeff

https://www.facebook.com/NASAAstronautJeffWilliams/

https://www.instagram.com/astro_jeffw/

[Satori]

First day of final exams for the Soyuz TMA-20M crews (in Russian): http://www.gctc.ru/main.php?id=3352

[jacqmans]

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[John44]

Expedition 47-48 - Crew Qualification Training
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9769

[jacqmans]

[Satori]

Second day of final exams for the Soyuz TMA-20M crews (in Russian): http://www.gctc.ru/main.php?id=3355

[jacqmans]

Сегодня в Центре подготовки космонавтов состоялась пресс-конференция основного и дублирующего экипажей МКС 47/48. Вот как раз тот самый совенок, про которого рассказывал командир экипажа "Союз ТМА-20М" Алексей Овчинин, и который будет выполнять роль индикатора невесомости.

Today in the Cosmonaut Training Center held a press conference the main and backup crews of the ISS 47/48. That's just the same owlet, about which told the crew commander of "Soyuz TMA-20M" Alex Ovchinin, and which will serve as an indicator of weightlessness.

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[John44]

Expedition 47/48 - Crew News Conference at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9773

Expedition 47/48 - Crew’s Ceremonial Visit to the Gagarin Museum at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9774

[jacqmans]

[jacqmans]

[jacqmans]

http://www.gctc.ru/main.php?id=3367

[Satori]

Both crews have arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome today.

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News
The Soyuz TMA-20M crews arrived at the Baikonur cosmodrome
March 3, 2015

The prime and the backup crewmembers of the Soyuz TMA-20M manned transport vehicle arrived at the Baikonur cosmodrome for further pre-flight training.

The vehicle prime crew consists of Russian cosmonauts OVCHININ Alexey Nikolaevich and SKRIPOCHKA Oleg Ivanovich, NASA astronaut Jeffry WILLIAMS. The backup crew consists of RYZHIKOV Sergei Nikolaevich (Roscosmos), BORISENKO Andrei Ivanovich (Roscosmos) and Robert KIMBROUGH (NASA).

The Soyuz TMA-20M MTV launch with the crew for the next long-duration tour to the International Space Station (ISS) is planned on March 19, 2016 from site No. 1 (Gagarin’s Start) from the Baikonur cosmodrome.

http://www.energia.ru/en/iss/iss47/photo_03-03.html

[Artyom.]

[jacqmans]

http://www.gctc.ru/main.php?id=3372