At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos are preparing for their launch to the International Space Station. Their journey to the station will begin with a lift off at 4:40 a.m. EDT Thursday (2:40 p.m. in Baikonur). Live launch coverage will begin at 3:30 a.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency’s website. At the time of launch, the space station will be flying over NE Kazakhstan at 254 statute miles.
The two will join Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency, NASA Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Prokopyev, who arrived at the station in June.
The crew members of Expedition 57 will continue work on hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science aboard the International Space Station, humanity’s only permanently occupied microgravity laboratory.
Below is the crew’s launch timeline in EDT:
EDT L-Hr/M/Sec Event
7:40:17pm 9:00 Crew wakeup at Cosmonaut Hotel
10:40:17pm 6:00 Crew departs Cosmonaut Hotel
10:55:17pm 5:45 Batteries installed in booster
11:25:17pm 5:15 Crew arrives at Site 254
11:40:17pm 5:00 Tanking begins
12:10:17am 4:30 Crew suit up
12:35:17am 4:05 Booster loaded with liquid Oxygen
1:10:17am 3:30 Crew meets family members on other side of the glass
1:35:17am 3:05 First and second stage oxygen fueling complete
1:40:17am 3:00 Crew walkout from 254 and boards bus for the launch pad
1:45:17am 2:55 Crew departs for launch pad (Site 1)
2:05:17am 2:35 Crew arrives at launch pad (Site 1)
2:15:17am 2:25 Crew boards Soyuz; strapped in to the Descent module
3:05:17am 1:35 Descent module hardware tested
3:20:17am 1:20 Hatch closed; leak checks begin
3:30:00am 1:10:17 NASA TV LAUNCH COVERAGE BEGINS
3:40:17am 1:00 Launch vehicle control system prep; gyro activation
3:45:00am :55:17 NASA TV: Crew pre-launch activities B-roll played)
3:55:17am :45:00 Pad service structure components lowered
3:56:17am :44:00 Clamshell gantry service towers retracted
4:03:17am :37:00 Suit leak checks begin; descent module testing complete
4:06:17am :34:00 Emergency escape system armed
4:25:17am :15:00 Suit leak checks complete; escape system to auto
4:30:17am :10:00 Gyros in flight readiness and recorders activated
4:33:17am :07:00 Pre-launch operations complete
4:34:17am :06:00 Launch countdown operations to auto; vehicle ready
4:35:17am :05:00 Commander’s controls activated
4:36:17am :04:00 Combustion chamber nitrogen purge
4:36:51am :03:26 ISS flies directly over the Baikonur Cosmodrome
4:37:17am :03:00 Propellant drainback
4:37:32am :02:45 Booster propellant tank pressurization
4:38:47am :01:30 Ground propellant feed terminated
4:39:17am :01:00 Vehicle to internal power
4:39:42am :00:35 First umbilical tower separates
Auto sequence start
4:39:47am :00:30 Ground umbilical to third stage disconnected
4:40:02am :00:15 Second umbilical tower separates
4:40:05am :00:12 Launch command issued
Engine Start Sequence Begins
4:40:07am :00:10 Engine turbo pumps at flight speed
4:40:12am :00:05 Engines at maximum thrust
4:40:17am :00:00 LAUNCH OF SOYUZ MS-10 TO THE ISS
4:49:02am +8:45 THIRD STAGE SHUTDOWN; SOYUZ ORBITAL INSERTION
For launch coverage and more information about the mission, visit: https://blogs-stage-old.nasawestprime.com/spacestation/.