NASA to Broadcast April 8 Launch of Crew to International Space Station

NASA will provide live coverage of the upcoming launch of the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft, which is scheduled to carry NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 8. The mission, launching from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome, will see the trio join the Expedition 72/73 crew for an eight-month stay focused on scientific research in low Earth orbit.

Liftoff is set for 1:47 a.m. EDT (10:47 a.m. local Baikonur time). The crew is expected to arrive at the station approximately three hours later, following a two-orbit trajectory. Automated docking with the ISS’s Prichal module is scheduled for around 5:03 a.m. Eastern, after which the hatch will open and the crew will be welcomed aboard at approximately 7:20 a.m.

This mission marks the first spaceflight for both Kim and Zubritsky, and the third for Ryzhikov. Upon arrival, they will join a team that includes fellow NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain, and Don Pettit; JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi; and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, Kirill Peskov, and Ivan Vagner. Together, the expanded crew will support a variety of ongoing experiments aimed at furthering human spaceflight and scientific discovery.

NASA will broadcast the launch, docking, and hatch opening live on its NASA+ streaming platform. Coverage begins at 12:45 a.m. EDT, followed by launch at 1:47 a.m., rendezvous and docking coverage starting at 4:15 a.m., and final hatch opening coverage at 7:00 a.m.

The ISS has hosted continuous human habitation for over two decades, providing a unique microgravity environment for scientific research not feasible on Earth. These missions also serve as vital preparation for NASA’s Artemis program, which is laying the groundwork for future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.

Article by multiple RFHC contributors, based upon information from NASA

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