BAIKONUR (Kazakhstan), April 19. /TASS/. The state commission at the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan has approved the crew of a new expedition to the International Space Station (ISS), Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos told TASS on Wednesday.
"The basic crew comprises Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and US astronaut Jack Fischer," a Roscosmos spokesman said.
Showing their zero-G indicators, the Prime Crew, Fyodor Yurchikhin & @Astro2Fish, conduct the final inspection of their Soyuz-MS spacecraft. pic.twitter.com/tFN85AKN82
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) 17 April 2017
The launch of a Soyuz-FG carrier rocket with a Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft to the International Space Station is planned for 10:13 Moscow time on April 20. After reaching the orbit, it will take the spacecraft six hours to approach the ISS. The spacecraft is expected to dock with the world orbiter’s Russian module Poisk at 16:22 Moscow time on the same day.
The previous three flights of the Soyuz MS spacecraft were held under a two-day scheme as they were carried out in the testing mode.
Wicked cool = understatement. @AstroKomrade does it again to give us sweet view of business end while they rotate Argo into launch position! pic.twitter.com/c9mbcQPVmp
— Jack Fischer (@Astro2fish) 18 April 2017
It was reported earlier that a Soyuz-FG carrier rocket with a Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft had been installed on a launch pad at the Baikonur spaceport.
Previous reports said that a smaller crew would fly to the International Space Station as a 70-kg cargo container would be installed on the vacant third seat.
Roscosmos has reported that two of four Soyuz spacecraft crews will comprise two instead of three members in 2017. This situation is expected to last until the multifunctional laboratory module Nauka docks with the space station.
Yurchikhin and Fischer earlier pledged to work faster to successfully fulfil scientific tasks in a crew of two aboard the world’s sole orbiter.
Argo the spacecraft
A Soyuz manned spacecraft scheduled to take off tomorrow to the International Space Station is the first in the batch to get a name, Argo, Roscosmos has announced.
"The Soyuz MS-04 manned spacecraft has been named Argo," the statement says.
In the vertical, “Argo” (as she was named by her crew Fyodor Yurchikhin and @Astro2fish) awaits her date with destiny, 20 April 2017. pic.twitter.com/zjZal6xHyq
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) 18 April 2017
A day before the launch, Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin said that his vision of the spacecraft differs from that of NASA astronaut Jack Fischer. "He believes our spacecraft is female, a fiancee, and asked our lead designer, Sergey Romanov, for his blessing. I believe the spacecraft is male, a man of character," Yurchikhin noted, adding that the following expedition is also mulling over a name for their spacecraft.
A Soyuz-FG carrier rocket is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 10:13 a.m. Moscow time on April 20 to deliver the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft to the International Space Station. The spacecraft is planned to dock at the ISS at 4:22 p.m. Moscow time on the same day, with Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos and Jack Fischer of NASA aboard.
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