Expedition 68 Uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 Launch to International Space Station - Feb. 23, 2023

An uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft launched atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Feb. 23, 2023. Following a two-day rendezvous, the vehicle will dock to the Poisk module of the International Space Station to replace the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio launched on last September that incurred a coolant loop leak in December. Join NASA as we go forward to the Moon and on to Mars -- discover the latest on Earth, the Solar System and beyond with a weekly update in your inbox. Subscribe at: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

What is said in the film

You are looking live at launch pad at site 31 in kazakhstan. It's 5:00 a. m. In the morning. In your view, a soyuz ready for liftoff to send the spacecraft without a crew on board on a two-day journey to link up to the international space station.

Soyuz ms-23 is the replacement vehicle for the soyuz spacecraft damaged last december losing its cooling capability rendering it only available for emergency purposes. Good evening from houston control and the flight control room here at the johnson space center. The orbit 3 team is on duty led by brandon lloyd working with their counterparts standing by for launch of the soyuz spacecraft. This is the view of the coolant leak that occurred on the night of december 14. Mostly sunny -- most likely due as cosmonauts were beginning a spacewalk.

It was docked to the module on the earth feeing side -- earth facing side. They determined that use ms-22 would only be used to return crew members back to earth with astronauts on board. They launched on this vehicle last september along with their nasa crew mate, frank rubio. In the event of an emergency, rubio would be required to return to earth aboard endurance. Soyuz ms-23, will be the nominal ride home later this year.

Once the uncrewed soyuz ms-23 reaches the space station on saturday night to the poisk module, the three crew members will repair and an assisted landing for post flight analysis by engineers. That docking port opened up last friday night when the uncrewed progress 82 cargo ship undocked following its own coolant leak, similar to that incurred by the soyuz. It burned up harmlessly over the pacific ocean setting the stage for tonight's launch. Countdown clocks are ticking backward now 21:08 until the liftoff. Rather than caring three crew members, they are bringing supplies.

This replacement vehicle will be the ride home later this year. On board the international space station at this hour, the seven crew members comprising the expedition 6 crew are asleep. At the time of launch the international space station will be flying 260 statue miles over the south atlantic. Extensive engineering tests were conducted in baikonur. The management team met and gave its final approval to proceed with tonight's launch.

To punctuate the critical cathade leaders and the iss program leader. The three stage soyuz booster was fueled several hours ago, everything is proceeding on track for launch. The launch time is 6:24:29 p. m. Central time, 7:24:29 eastern time which is 5:24:29 baikonur time on friday morning.

Once the soyuz lifts off, the milestones will be as follows. The first stage separation of the three stages of the soyuz booster is scheduled to occur at the 1:58 mark into the flight followed about 36 seconds later by the jettisoning of the launch shroud and the second shutdown at the 4:37 mark. Second stage separation occurs 11 seconds later. The third stage engines will continue to propel the soyuz with third stage shutdown occurring at the 8:46 mark into the flight following that, three seconds later, soyuz separation from that third stage. That will activate what is called program 4, the deployment of appendages, meaning solar arrays and antennas and the soyuz will be on its way.

This is a 34 orbit, two-day journey to reach the international space station. At that point the chase will be on. Automatic docking is scheduled for saturday night at 7:01 p. m. Eastern time.

8:01 p. m. Eastern time. We are inside the 18:30 mark until launch. You are looking at a view of the soyuz booster, the 2.

1 a booster at the baikonur cosmodrome. The gantry arms were retracted 20 minutes ago. It's on autonomous power at this hour. After careful preparations of the soyuz was mated to the soyuz booster, the soyuz spacecraft itself was mated to the soyuz booster earlier this week and rolled out to the launch pad where technicians working in frigid temperatures hooked up data lines and fuel lines to the rocket for final pre-launch testing. Everything has gone by the book as the soyuz awaits its lifted-off.

No crew on board. This will be the ride home for frank rubio later this year. Some of the countdown milestones coming up shortly at the t-minus 7 mark. The launch sequence into its final automatic mode. At t minus 5:30 mark, there will be a check to make sure the range is clear, no constraints and the soyuz rocket is ready to begin its journey.

On board systems will be switched to on board control with cockpit displays activated on board the soyuz and again in place of the typical three member crew. We have 946 pounds of supplies and logistics for the expedition 68 crew on board the international space station. At about the 3:45 mark into the count, the fuel lines and other elements of the rocket engines will be purged with nitrogen to fire proof them by removing vapors of fuel. The boosters will be pressurized for flight opt optimizing the flow of fuel and structural support. Everything proceeding on track at site 31 at the baikonur site in kazakhstan.

It will be a busy time on board the international space station with tonight's launch, of course, and the automated docking of this replacement soyuz vehicle scheduled for saturday night. A little over 24 hours after that is the schedule launch of the spacex crew dragon endeavor from launch pad 39 a at the kennedy space center to carry four new crew members to the complex led by dragon commander steve boehn of nasa. Temperatures in baikonur right now, 25° fahrenheit. Very light winds. And mostly clear skies for the beginning of the two-day trip by the soyuz vehicle and automated docking plan to the poisk module on the space facing side of the complex.

You can see just to the left side of the soyuz booster there are umbilical towers, two up against the side of the vehicle. At the t-minus 35 second mark the first of the two umbilicals will retract. The second will separate or retract from the side of the booster at about the t minus 15 second mark. That will initiate the engine start for the first stage engines on the soyuz 2. 1 a booster.

Inside 13 minutes until launch. Everything continues to proceed in flawless fashion in the count. There is a ten second launch window available for soyuz launches, although the way the countdowns are typically structured, they occur right on the dot. Launch time this evening 6:24:29 p. m.

Central time. Once replacement soyuz docks to the international space station, the three crew members who will ride it home, they will transfer their soyuz seat liners. They will move from the damaged soyuz ms-22 to the new soyuz ms-23. And frank rubio will move his to the crew dragon endurance which is docked to the international space station, will similarly move his soyuz seat liner to the new soyuz. The international space station is currently traveling over the southern tip of south america about to begin a southwest to northeasterly track 51.

6° to either side of the equator. The soyuz booster will launch and arc out to the northeast over the central asian desert heading for its preliminary orbit with spacecraft separation scheduled 8:49 after launch. Coming up on the t-minus 10 minute mark. After the soyuz vehicle reaches its preliminary orbit, there will be a series of dv burns, delta velocity burns of the engine that will initially raise the orbit of the soyuz vehicle to match that of the international space station and to slowly incrementally close the gap between itself and the station setting up what is called the automated rendezvous sequence on saturday leading to the autonomous docking of this vehicle to the poisk module. Docking on saturday night scheduled at 7:01 p.

m. Central time, 8:01 p. m. Eastern time. We'll be live on the air with coverage on that as well.

Coming up on the eight minute mark until launch. T-minus 8 minutes and counting. T-minus 7:15 until launch. Coming up on the point where the launch key is insert in the launch bunker, transitioning the launch sequencer into automatic mode. The launch taking place a little more than two hours before sunrise on friday morning in the central asian desert.

And there's a view inside the decent module of the crew capsule. Normally you would see three crew members. There is a og indicator for the ride home later this year. The soyuz you can see right above the 0-g indicator, that is cargo, 946 pounds of cargo replacing the presence of the crew members. T-points 5:30 until launch.

The range is clear at baikonur. Coming up on the 4:30 mark until launch. On board systems will be switched to what is called on board control. And recorders are being activated. T-minus 4 minutes and counting.

A very smooth countdown so far. The first stage of the booster is being replenished with fuel at ground propel atlanta feed -- propellant feed will be terminated a minute and a half before launch. T-minus 3 minutes and counting, just a few seconds away from booster tank pressurization. And the tanks have now been pressurized. Once again this optimizes the flow of fuel and adds structural support to the rocket as it sits on the pad.

T-might 2 minutes and counting until the launch of the uncrewed soyuz ms-23. 1:30 until launch. The ground propellant feed now being terminated. T-minus one minute. Auto sequence start initiateed.

35 seconds until launch. There's the retraction of the first umbilical tower. Second umbilical will retract in a few seconds initiating engine sequence start. And engine sequence start has begun. The engine is throttling up.

Now at full throttle. Turbo pumps at flight speed and lift-off, a new ride back to earth takes aim at the international space station. 20 seconds into the flight, roll program confirmed. Engines reported to be operating normally from baikonur. 38 seconds into the flight.

Soyuz arcing out to the northeast. Good structural stability on the vehicle. Pressure in the tanks reported to be nome natural. -- nominal. Passing through maximum dynamic.

Flight reported to be going by the book 1:20 into the flight. All structural parameters are reported to be normal. Engine is performing as planned. First stage separation is planned about 20 seconds from now. Standing by for first stage separation.

And we have had escape tower jettison and first stage separation. The soyuz traveling 4500 miles an hour, 29 miles in altitude, 29 miles down range, coming up on the 2:30 mark into the flight. Mark 2:30 into the flight. About six and a half minutes to go. And we have had launch shroud jettison.

This view now from a television camera on the upper stage of the soyuz booster. Coming up on the three minute mark into the flight. Less than six minutes of powered flight remaining. The rocket reported to be stable. Good second stage performance.

Lift-off time was confirmed at 6:24:29 central time, 5:24:29 a. m. Baikonur time on friday morning. 3:40 into the flight. Flight continues to go very smoothly.

Five minutes of powered flight remaining. Four minutes into the flight, the soyuz traveling 7400 miles an hour, 81 miles in altitude, 190 miles down range from the baikonur cosmodrome. Roll, pitch and yaw reported to be normal. Good structural parameters, good engine performance. Coming up on second stage separation.

Second stage separation confirmed, third stage engine up and running. 5:10 into the flight. 3:40 of powered flight remaining. 5:30 into the flight, the soyuz now traveling just over 10,000 miles an hour, 106 miles in altitude, almost 400 miles down range from the baikonur cosmodrome. Three hours of flight remaining, everything is performing as planned as is the third stage engine.

Roll, pitch and yaw all confirmed to be normal. Good engine performance. Coming up on the 6:30 mark into the flight. Less than 2:30 of powered flight remaining. Coming up on 7 minutes into the flight.

Mark 7 minutes, 1:48 of powered flight remaining. Soyuz now traveling some 13,000 miles an hour, 122 miles in altitude. The vehicle reported to be stable, all parameters are good, engine performance is by the book. 7:48 into the flight, one minute of powered flight remaining. 8:10 into the flight, once again, good engine performance, good structure on the spacecraft.

Now 8:30 into the flight, less than 30 seconds until third stage separation. Standing by for third stage shutdown and spacecraft separation. Third stage shutdown, and spacecraft separation. On board computers now will command the deployment of the appendages, you can see them unfurl. Navigation appendages as well.

And we now have confirmation that all appendages have been deployed. All solar arrays and navigational antennas, a nominal asset for the unmanned soyuz ms-23. It will bring home rubio, perkovia later this year. And there's our first view from the external cross-engineering camera. It will come into play with all the navigational antenna during the rendezvous, and automated docking this spacecraft will conduct on saturday night as it links up to the poisk module on the space facing side of the international space station.

So once again, the uncrewed soyuz ms-23 spacecraft atop the soyuz 2. 1 a booster lifted off on time from baikonur at 6:24:29 central which was 5:24:29 baikonur time on friday morning. It took just under nine minutes for the three stage soyuz booster to do its job. Everything was perfect all the way up with spacecraft separation coming at the 8:49 mark into the flight followed seconds later by the deployment of the solar arrays and its navigational antennas. At this point the soyuz vehicle will conduct a series of dv or delta velocity burns of its engine to raise its orbit to match that of the international space station and close the gap between itself and the out-post setting up automated approach and docking to the poisk module of the international space station saturday night.

We'll wrap up with a programming note. We'll be back on the air on saturday night for rendezvous and docking of the soyuz ms-23 with coverage beginning at 7:53 p. m. Eastern time. We'll see you back here on saturday night.

In the meantime, that wraps up our coverage for this evening, a perfect launch for the ms-23, the replacement soyuz on its way to the international space station.

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