Time.news – Russia has launched the Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft headed to the International Space Station (ISS) carrying the first crew made up exclusively of Russian cosmonauts since 2008.
The spacecraft, named after the Russian space agency Roscosmos in honor of Sergei Korolyov, considered the father of Soviet cosmonautics and the architect of the most important achievements in the history of the exploration of the cosmos, was launched at 4:55 pm Italian time from the Cosmodrome of Baikonur, in the Kazakh steppe.
Three cosmonauts are racing to the station after launching aboard the Soyuz MS-21 crew ship at 11:55am ET today from Kazakhstan (8:55pm Baikonur time). More… https://t.co/LwcVMvI6xk pic.twitter.com/g5A5MdKnzL
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) March 18, 2022
The crew consists of cosmonauts Oleg Artemiev, Denis Matveev and Sergei Korsakov, which will remain on the space platform for 195 days.
The last exclusively Russian crew to fly on the International Space Station was number 17, consisting of Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko, in 2008. During the mission, the crew will have to carry out seven spacewalks, as well as technical maintenance and repairs. of the platform.