Expedition 50-51 Launches to International Space Station | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Three astronauts, Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy, and Tomah Pesquet, were successfully launched into space on a Soyuz rocket to join the International Space Station.

Key Insights

• 🚀 The Soyuz rocket performed flawlessly during the launch, with all stages delivering the expected thrust and separating successfully.
• 🧑‍🚀 The astronauts, including Peggy Whitson, a NASA astronaut, and two Russian cosmonauts, embarked on their journey to the International Space Station.
• 😅 The Soyuz rocket utilized a hot stage technique, igniting the third stage while the second stage was still burning.
• 📡 The spacecraft separation and deployment of navigation antennas and solar arrays were confirmed, ensuring the Soyuz systems were activated.

Transcript

start the engine's igniting the launch command issued again the engines will fire ramping up towards flight speed and liftoff peggy whitson oleg novitskiy and tomah pesquet rocketing towards the international space station the rocket lighting up the night sky there in baikonur all initial performance calls indicate everything nominal or normal firs... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: Who were the astronauts launched into space on the Soyuz rocket?

The astronauts launched on the Soyuz rocket were Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy, and Tomah Pesquet.

Q: What were the performance calls indicating during the launch?

All initial performance calls indicated everything was nominal or normal, suggesting a successful launch.

Q: How long did the first stage of the rocket burn for?

The first stage burned for a total of two minutes and six seconds.

Q: When did the Soyuz rocket separate and enter its preliminary orbit?

The Soyuz rocket separated and entered its preliminary orbit at around 8 minutes and 45 seconds since liftoff.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy, and Tomah Pesquet were launched towards the International Space Station on a Soyuz rocket, with all performance calls indicating a successful launch.

• The first stage delivered 930,000 pounds of thrust for the first two minutes and six seconds of the flight, while the second stage continued to burn for 3 minutes and 28 seconds.

• The third stage ignited while the second stage was still burning, and at 8 minutes and 45 seconds since liftoff, the Soyuz separated and entered its preliminary orbit.