1st Soyuz Crew Since Emergency Abort Set for ISS Launch Dec 3: Rollout Photos, Watch Live

In the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 58 crew members Anne McClain of NASA (left), Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos (center) and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency (right) pose for pictures Nov. 20, 2018 in front of their Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft.  Launch slated for Dec. 3, 2018. Credits: NASA/Victor Zelentsov

Ken Kremer  --SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –2 December 2018

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – The first launch of a crew aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule from the Baikonur Cosmodrome since October’s failed launch and harrowing emergency abort less than two months ago is set for liftoff to the International Space Station (ISS) early Monday morning Dec. 3.

The multinational trio of Anne McClain of NASA, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, and Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos are slated to launch aboard the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft Dec. 3 at 6:31 a.m. EST, 1131 GMT (5:31 p.m. Kazakhstan time).

The rocket rolled out to the launch pad No. 1 on Sat. Dec. 1 and is standing vertical. 

Watch this Roscosmos video:
https://youtu.be/3fe28gFkVoI

The last launch of a two person Russian-American crew on Oct. 11 ended in failure two minutes after liftoff with the sudden triggering of an emergency abort separation of the Soyuz MS-10 capsule from the Soyuz FG carrier rocket due to a deformed sensor on the core stage. 

Both crewmates comprising Russian commander Alexey Ovchinin and NASA flight engineer Nick Hague survived without injury and excellent health when the Soyuz soft landed safely by parachute. That was the first Soyuz crew launch failure since 1983.

Meanwhile the SpaceX Dragon cargo launch remains on track for launch on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 1:38 p.m. EST. Space UpClose will be covering the launch events at KSC.

The US, Canadian and Russia trio of 2 rookies and 1 veteran space flyer are scheduled to launch on Monday, Dec. 3 on a rapid paced four orbit six-hour journey to the International Space Station for a lengthy six-and-a-half month mission.

They are scheduled to dock the Soyuz to the station’s Poisk module at 12:35 p.m. to begin their mission on the orbital laboratory as members of the Expedition 58 crew.

Kononenko will be making his fourth long term trip to the station. McClain and Saint-Jacques will be their first flights each.

Live coverage of the launch and docking activities will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website:

Here’s the NASA TV schedule (all times EST):

Monday, Dec. 3

5:30 a.m. – Soyuz MS-11 launch coverage (launch at 6:31 a.m.)

·        11:45 a.m. – Docking coverage (docking scheduled for 12:35 p.m.)

·        1:45 p.m. – Hatch opening (expected at about 2:35 p.m.) and welcome coverage

At their Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 58 crew members Anne McClain of NASA (left), Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos (center) and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency (right) pose for pictures Nov. 27 as part of traditional pre-launch activities. They will launch Dec. 3 on the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station...NASA/Victor Zelentsov

Roscosmos tweeted the official crew list and photo:
https://twitter.com/roscosmos/status/1069194890100264970

#SoyuzMS11: The State Commission at the Baikonur launch site approved the list of the main crew of the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft: 
cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko (Roscosmos); 

astronaut David Saint-Jacques (@csa_asc); 

astronaut Anne McClain (@NASA).

Less than two hours after docking, hatches between the Soyuz and the station will open, and the current crew, Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency), NASA Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Prokopyev, who have been in orbit since June, will greet them.

Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com

Dr. Kremer is a research scientist, journalist and photographer based in the KSC area.………….

Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events

Learn more about the upcoming upcoming/recent SpaceX Falcon 9/CRS-16 launch to ISS,  NASA missions, ULA Atlas & Delta launches, SpySats and more at Ken’s upcoming outreach events at Kennedy Space Center Quality Inn, Titusville, FL, evenings:

Dec 3,4: “SpaceX Dragon CRS-16 resupply launch to ISS, SpaceX Falcon Heavy & Falcon 9 launches, upcoming SpaceX Falcon 9 USAF GP3 3-01, NRO & USAF Spysats, SLS, Orion, Boeing and SpaceX Commercial crew capsules, OSIRIS-Rex, Juno at Jupiter, InSight Mars lander, Curiosity and Opportunity explore Mars, NH at Pluto, Kuiper Belt and more,” Kennedy Space Center Quality Inn, Titusville, FL, evenings. Photos for sale