Astronauts Thomas Pesquet of ESA
(European Space Agency), Oleg Novitskiy of
the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Peggy Whitson of NASA
pose for a group photo ahead of their final qualification exams, Tuesday,
Oct. 25, 2016, at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in
Star City, Russia.
Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls
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NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy of the Russian space
agency Roscosmos, and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) will launch
Thursday, Nov. 17, for a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station.
Prelaunch activities will air through Nov. 16, and live launch
coverage will begin at 2:30 p.m. EST Nov. 17, on NASA Television and the
agency’s website. The crew of Expedition 50/51 will launch at 3:20 p.m. (2:20
a.m. Nov. 18, Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
After launching, the crew members will travel for two days before
docking to the space station’s Rassvet module at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. NASA
TV coverage of the docking will begin at 4:15 p.m. Hatches between the Soyuz and
station will open at approximately 7:35 p.m., and the arriving crew will be
welcomed by Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Roscosmos
cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko, who have been aboard the
complex since October. NASA TV coverage of hatch opening and welcoming
ceremonies will begin at 6:45 p.m.
During their stay aboard the orbital complex, Whitson will become
the first woman to command the space station twice. Her first tenure as
commander was in 2007, when she became the first woman to hold this post.
Whitson has an advanced degree in biochemistry, and prior to her selection as
an astronaut candidate in 1996, she served in prominent medical science
research and supervisory positions at NASA.
The soon-to-be six crew members of Expedition 50 will contribute
to hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and
Earth science aboard humanity’s only microgravity laboratory. The crew is
scheduled to return to Earth next spring.
Check out the full NASA TV schedule and video streaming
information at:
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crews, at:
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