Soyuz MS-26

Soyuz MS-26
Soyuz MS-26 approaches the International Space Station
NamesISS 72S
Mission typeISS crew transport
OperatorRoscosmos
COSPAR ID2024-162A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.61043Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration52 days, 22 hours and 10 minutes (in progress)
180 days (planned)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSoyuz MS-26 No. 757
Spacecraft typeSoyuz MS
ManufacturerEnergia
Launch mass7,050 kg (15,540 lb)[1]
Crew
Crew size3
Members
CallsignBurlak
ExpeditionExpedition 71/72
Start of mission
Launch date11 September 2024, 16:23:12 (11 September 2024, 16:23:12) UTC (21:23:12 AQTT)
RocketSoyuz 2.1a
Launch siteBaikonur, Site 31/6
ContractorProgress
End of mission
Landing dateMarch 2025 (planned)
Landing siteKazakh Steppe, Kazakhstan
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking portRassvet nadir
Docking date11 September 2024, 19:32 UTC
Undocking dateMarch 2025 (planned)
Time docked52 days, 19 hours and 1 minute (in progress)

Mission patch, which depicts the three crew members as Burlak (the mission's callsign) pulling the Soyuz[2]

From left: Vagner, Ovchinin and Pettit

Soyuz MS-26, Russian production No. 757 and identified by NASA as Soyuz 72S, is a Russian crewed Soyuz spaceflight launched from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 11 September 2024 to the International Space Station.[3][4][5] The mission transported three crew members, Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, along with NASA astronaut Donald Pettit.

When the spacecraft crossed the Karman line shortly after launch, there were a record 19 people in outer space: the three astronauts on the MS-26 mission, three more on China's Tiangong space station, four people on the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, and nine more on board the International Space Station.[6]

  1. ^ "Soyuz MS-26". Next Spaceflight. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  2. ^ "NASA's oldest active astronaut launches on 'next flight' on Soyuz MS-26". collectSPACE. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference russianspaceweb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Better Late Than Never: New ISS Crew Prepares to Fly, All-Female EVAs Possible in October – AmericaSpace". www.americaspace.com. 10 September 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Госкорпорация «Роскосмос»". Telegram. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  6. ^ "NASA's oldest active astronaut launches on 'next flight' aboard Soyuz". CollectSpace.com. 11 September 2024.