The 37th crew of the International Space Station is launched (video)

The International Space Station is awaiting the docking of a new trio: the 37th crew members and the arrival of the Cygnus (Swan) cargo spacecraft, Orbital Sciences' first commercial cargo spacecraft, which was delayed in space due to a software glitch

The launch of the Soyuz TMA-10M spacecraft, on September 26, 2013 from Kazakhstan
The launch of the Soyuz TMA-10M spacecraft, on September 26, 2013 from Kazakhstan

Soyuz commander Oleg Kutov and flight engineers Mike Hopkins and Sergey Ryazhansky were launched from the launch center in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, at two minutes past Israel time aboard the Soyuz TMA-10M spacecraft. They will complete the station's six-person crew when they dock with the Foysk module after four orbits of the Earth at 05:48 Israel time.

Crew 37 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineers Karen Nyberg and Luca Parmitano will welcome their new crew members when they open the gates between the spacecraft at 07:25 on Thursday. The station's current residents have been aboard the space station since May 28 and are scheduled to return home on November 11.

A group photo of all members of the 37th crew of the space station upon the arrival of the three astronauts on September 26. Photo: NASA
A group photo of all members of the 37th crew of the space station upon the arrival of the three astronauts on September 26. Photo: NASA

Kotov, Hopkins and Ryazhansky will stay at the station until March 2014. This is Kotov's third mission to the station. To Hopkins and the one in the first mission.

And as mentioned, a new commercial supply spacecraft of Orbital Sciences is on its way to the station. The Cygnus (Swan) spacecraft was launched on September 18 on an Antares rocket. The spacecraft was already supposed to arrive at the station last Sunday, however a mismatch in the data format between NASA and the private company forced Orbital Sciences to transmit a software patch to the spacecraft and change the date of its arrival at the station.

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