At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Terry Virts of NASA, Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency are preparing for their launch to the International Space Station. Their journey to the station will begin with a 4:01 p.m. EST (3:01 a.m. on Nov. 24 Baikonur time) liftoff. NASA TV will broadcast launch coverage live at https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv beginning at 3 p.m.
Below is the crew’s launch timeline, from wakeup to docking.
Sunday, Nov. 23
EST Event
6:10 a.m. Crew wakeup at Cosmonaut Hotel
9:25 a.m. Crew departs Cosmonaut Hotel
10:10 a.m. Crew arrives at Site 254
10:16 a.m. Batteries installed in booster
10:55 a.m. Crew suit up
11:01 a.m. Tanking begins
11:55 a.m. Crew meets family members on other side of the glass
11:56 a.m. Booster loaded with liquid Oxygen
12:56 p.m. First and second stage Oxygen fueling complete
12:15 p.m. Crew walkout and readiness report to the State Commission
1:20 p.m. Crew departs for launch pad (Site 31)
1:30 p.m. Crew arrives at launch pad (Site 31)
1:35 p.m. Crew boards Soyuz; strapped in to the Descent module
2:26 p.m. Descent module hardware tested
2:41 p.m. Hatch closed; leak checks begin
3:00 p.m. NASA TV: LAUNCH COVERAGE BEGINS
3:01 p.m. Launch vehicle control system prep; gyro activation
3:16 p.m. Pad service structure components lowered
3:17 p.m. Clamshell gantry service towers retracted
3:24 p.m. Suit leak checks begin; descent module testing complete
3:27 p.m. Emergency escape system armed
3:46 p.m. Suit leak checks complete; escape system to auto
3:51 p.m. Gyros in flight readiness and recorders activated
3:54 p.m. Pre-launch operations complete
3:55 p.m. Launch countdown operations to auto; vehicle ready
3:56 p.m. Commander’s controls activated
3:57 p.m. Combustion chamber nitrogen purge
3:58:14 p.m. Propellant drainback
3:58:29 p.m. Booster propellant tank pressurization
3:59:10 p.m. ISS flies directly over Baikonur Cosmodrome
3:59:44 p.m. Ground propellant feed terminated
4:00:14 p.m. Vehicle to internal power
4:00:39 p.m. First umbilical tower separates, Auto sequence start
4:00:44 p.m. Ground umbilical to third stage disconnected
4:00:59 p.m. Second umbilical tower separates
4:01:02 p.m. Launch command issued, Engine Start Sequence Begins
4:01:04 p.m. Engine turbopumps at flight speed
4:01:09 p.m. Engines at maximum thrust
4:01:14 p.m. LAUNCH OF SOYUZ TMA-15M TO THE ISS
4:09 p.m. Third Stage Shutdown; Orbital Insertion
9:15 p.m. NASA TV: DOCKING COVERAGE BEGINS
9:30 p.m. Flyaround mode start
9:38 p.m. Station-keeping start
9:42 p.m. Final Approach start
9:53 p.m. DOCKING OF SOYUZ TMA-15M TO THE ISS
10:07 p.m. Soyuz & station hooks closed
11 p.m. NASA TV: HATCH OPENING COVERAGE BEGINS
11:30 p.m. Hatches between Soyuz and station open
To learn more about Expedition 42, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/1yMQKPe.
To follow Twitter updates from NASA’s Expedition 42 astronauts, visit:
http://www.twitter.com/AstroTerry
http://www.twitter.com/AntonAstrey
http://www.twitter.com/AstroSamantha
To join the online conversation about the International Space Station and Expedition 40 on Twitter, follow the hashtags #ISS, #Exp42 and #Soyuz. To learn more about all the ways to connect and collaborate with NASA, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/connect.