ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti trains for a Russian spacewalk in the hydrolab at Roscosmos's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre (GCTC).

Credit: GCTC

ID: SHL_9640

Russian Orthodox Priest Father Sergei blesses mission support personnel at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad after having blessed the Soyuz rocket, Thursday, April 8, 2021, in Kazakhstan. Expedition 65 NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Oleg Novitskiy are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on April 9. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina onboard, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission is the fifth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Mann, Cassada, Wakata, and Kikini launched at 12:00 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center to begin a six month mission onboard the orbital outpost. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, right, and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, second from right, Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, second from left, and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, left, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal prior to the Crew-6 mission launch, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Bowen, Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev are scheduled to launch at 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

At 11:12 GMT (13:12 CEST), 6 June 2018, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst was launched into space alongside NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Roscosmos commander Sergei Prokopyev in the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The launch went as planned as the 50-m tall Soyuz rocket propelled the astronauts to their cruising speed of around 28 800 km/h. Within 10 minutes of rising from the pad, the trio travelled over 1640 km and gained 210 km altitude. Every second for nine minutes, their spacecraft accelerated 50 km/h on average.

The spacecraft is an improved model from the last time Alexander was launched into space in 2014 with many technological upgrades to make the spacecraft lighter and more modern. For example, halogen lights have been replaced with LEDs, and newer and larger solar panels increase power generation.

Over the next two days, while circling Earth 34 times, the trio will catch up with the International Space Station where they will spend the next six months. The journey is relatively smooth and quiet after the rigours of launch. With no Internet or satellite phones, the crew relies on radio to communicate at set intervals with ground control.

The German astronaut is a returning visitor to the International Space Station, the first of ESA’s 2009 class of astronauts to be sent into space for a second time. During the second part of his mission Alexander will take over as commander of the International Space Station, only the second time an ESA astronaut will take on this role so far.

Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja

Manager, NASA ISS Transportation Integration Office, Bill Spetch, left, and NASA Public Affairs Officer Courtney Beasley look out the window of an AN-26 aircraft as they fly form Karaganda to Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan to prepare for the Soyuz MS-17 landing of Expedition 64 crew members Kate Rubins of NASA, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, Friday, April 16, 2021. Rubins, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov will be returning April 17 after 185 days in space having served as Expedition 63-64 crew members onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA Astronaut Office Representative and astronaut Drew Morgan communicates back to Houston of the status of NASA astronaut Kate Rubins while onboard a Russian MI-8 helicopter that will them to Karaganda after Rubins, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, landed in their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Saturday, April 17, 2021. Rubins, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov returned after 185 days in space having served as Expedition 63-64 crew members onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 63 crew members Chris Cassidy of NASA, and Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos, Thursday, October 22, 2020, Kazakh time (Oct. 21 Eastern time). Cassidy, Ivanishin and Vagner returned after 196 days in space having served as Expedition 62-63 crew members onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Denis Derevtsov)

nhq202103270002 (March 27, 2021) --- Expedition 65 prime crew members NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, left, Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, center, and Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos, are seen during a fit check to prepare for their launch Saturday, March 27, 2021 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They are scheduled to launch on a Soyuz rocket April 9. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Irina Spector)

The NASA Gulfstream V carrying NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina is seen as it arrives at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center ahead of SpaceX’s Crew-5 mission, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission is the fifth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Mann, Cassada, Wakata, and Kikini are scheduled to launch at 12:00 p.m. EDT on Oct. 5, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

iss065e006630 (April 27, 2021) --- Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Oleg Novitskiy pauses for a portrait during electrical maintenance work aboard the International Space Station.

The Soyuz MS-09 rocket is launched with Expedition 56 Soyuz Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos, flight engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA, and flight engineer Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency), Wednesday, June 6, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Prokopyev, Auñón-Chancellor, and Gerst will spend the next six months living and working aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins smiles as she prepares to have her Russian sokol suit pressure checked ahead of launching onboard the Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft with Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Thursday, July 7, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Rubins, Ivanishin, and Onishi launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the morning of July 7, Kazakh time (July 6 Eastern time.) All three will spend approximately four months on the orbital complex, returning to Earth in October. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

The Soyuz rocket is raised into position at the Site 31 launch pad of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Saturday, July 11, 2026. Expedition 75 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft on July 14. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Tuesday, April 6, 2021, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 65 NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Oleg Novitskiy are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on April 9. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Dragon spacecraft on top is seen at sunrise on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-6 mission, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev are scheduled to launch at 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

The Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft is seen in this long exposure photograph as it launched with Expedition 57 Flight Engineer Nick Hague of NASA and Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. During the Soyuz spacecraft's climb to orbit, an anomaly occurred, resulting in an abort downrange. The crew was quickly recovered and is in good condition. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

nhq201812200013 (Dec. 20, 2018) --- Russian Search and Rescue teams arrive at the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft shortly after it landed with Expedition 57 crew members Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA, Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency), and Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. Auñón-Chancellor, Gerst and Prokopyev are returning after 197 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 56 and 57 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 64 Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft on Oct. 14 to start a six-month mission onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Expedition 64 Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, left, and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, right, of Roscosmos are seen during pressure checks of their Sokol suits during the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft fit check, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Ryzhikov, Kud-Sverchkov, and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins are preparing for launch to the International Space Station in their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on October 14, Baikonur time. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Tuesday, April 6, 2021, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 65 NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Oleg Novitskiy are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on April 9. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Tim Kopra of NASA talks on a satellite phone outside the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft just minutes after he and Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Kopra, Peake, and Malenchenko are returning after six months in space where they served as members of the Expedition 46 and 47 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA waits to have his Russian Sokol Suit pressure checked ahead of his launch aboard the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft to the International Space Station with fellow crewmates Andrey Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Kimbrough, Borisenko, and Ryzhikov are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Oct. 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

nhq201610130027 (10/13/2016) --- Expedition 49 backup crew members Mark Vande Hei of NASA, left, Alexander Misurkin Soyuz, center, and Nikolai Tikhonov of Roscosmos, right, pose for a picture in front of the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft during the final fit check of the spacecraft on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA, flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos, and Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)

nhq202104060012 (April 6, 2021) --- The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Tuesday, April 6, 2021, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 65 NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Oleg Novitskiy are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on April 9. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins prepares to have her Russian sokol suit pressure checked ahead of launching onboard the Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft with Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Thursday, July 7, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Rubins, Ivanishin, and Onishi launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the morning of July 7, Kazakh time (July 6 Eastern time.) All three will spend approximately four months on the orbital complex, returning to Earth in October. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

nhq201609150021 (09/15/2016) --- The Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft is seen as while being encapsulated in its fairing on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA, flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos, and Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)

jsc2020e017060 (April 9, 2020) - Expedition 63 Launch - The Soyuz MS-16 lifts off from Site 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Thursday, April 9, 2020 sending Expedition 63 crewmembers Chris Cassidy of NASA and Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos into orbit for a six-hour flight to the International Space Station and the start of a six-and-a-half month mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Russian Search and Rescue teams scan the sky from the cockpit of a Russian MI-8 helicopter looking for the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft landing with Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 (Kazakh time). Kelly and Kornienko completed an International Space Station record year-long mission to collect valuable data on the effect of long duration weightlessness on the human body that will be used to formulate a human mission to Mars. Volkov returned after spending six months on the station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft is launched with Expedition 57 Flight Engineer Nick Hague of NASA and Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. During the Soyuz spacecraft's climb to orbit, an anomaly occurred, resulting in an abort downrange. The crew was quickly recovered and is in good condition.

The Soyuz rocket is raised vertical after having rolled out by train to the launch pad, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, at site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 68 astronaut Frank Rubio of NASA, and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft on Sept. 21. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft is launched with Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, Friday March 15, 2019, Kazakh time (March 14 Eastern time) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Hague, Koch, and Ovchinin will spend six-and-a-half months living and working aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz MS-09 rocket is launched with Expedition 56 Soyuz Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos, flight engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA, and flight engineer Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency), Wednesday, June 6, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Prokopyev, Auñón-Chancellor, and Gerst will spend the next six months living and working aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad, Saturday, July 11, 2026, at Site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 75 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft on July 14. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronaut Warren “Woody" Hoburg, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-6 mission launch, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Bowen, Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev are scheduled to launch at 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27 , from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Camels are seen as NASA and Roscosmos teams arrive in advance of the launch of Expedition 61 crewmembers Jessica Meir of NASA and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos, and spaceflight participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Meir, Skripochka, and Almansoori will launch September 25 on the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz MS-02 rocket is launched with Expedition 49 Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA, and flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Ryzhikov, Kimbrough, and Borisenko will spend the next four months living and working aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

nhq202104080023 (April 8, 2021) --- Expedition 65 Russian cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov is seen in quarantine, behind glass, during a press conference, Thursday, April 8, 2021 a the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Expedition 65 NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Dubrov are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on April 9. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Russian Orthodox Bishop Ignatii blesses the Soyuz rocket, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad in Kazakhstan. Expedition 68 astronaut Frank Rubio of NASA, and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft on Sept. 21. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls}

Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, left, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, center, and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have their Russian sokol suits pressure checked ahead of launching onboard the Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft, Thursday, July 7, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Rubins, Ivanishin, and Onishi launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the morning of July 7, Kazakh time (July 6 Eastern time.) All three will spend approximately four months on the orbital complex, returning to Earth in October. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

The Soyuz rocket is seen after being rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the morning of November 18 (Kazakh time.) All three will spend approximately six months on the orbital complex. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)

Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA is helped out of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft just minutes after she, Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency), and Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos, landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. Auñón-Chancellor, Gerst, and Prokopyev are returning after 197 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 56 and 57 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Ground support personnel are seen waiting to take off in their helicopter from Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan to support the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft landing with Expedition 40 Commander Steve Swanson of NASA, and Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014. Swanson, Skvortsov and Artemyev returned to Earth after more than five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 39 and 40 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

nhq202104060002 (April 6, 2021) --- The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Tuesday, April 6, 2021, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 65 NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Oleg Novitskiy are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on April 9. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Zeb Scoville, NASA's deputy chief flight director, monitors the countdown during a dress rehearsal in preparation for the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission with NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev onboard, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, in firing room four of the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Bowen, Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev are scheduled to launch at 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

A Russian Search and Rescue crew member inspects a MI-8 helicopter ahead of the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft landing with Expedition 47 crew members Tim Kopra of NASA, Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, and Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos Saturday, June 18, 2016, Kazakhstan. Kopra, Peake, and Malenchenko are returning after six months in space where they served as members of the Expedition 46 and 47 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency (ESA), presses her hands against the bus window as she departs the Cosmonaut Hotel to suit up for the Soyuz launch to the International Space Station on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for the early hours of Nov. 24 and will send Cristoforetti, Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), and Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA on a five and a half month mission aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

The Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft is rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015 in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz is scheduled for Dec. 15 and will send Expedition 46 Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Tim Kopra of NASA, and Flight Engineer Tim Peake of ESA (European Space Agency) to the International Space Station for a six-month stay. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

The Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 47 crew members Tim Kopra of NASA, Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, and Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Kopra, Peake, and Malenchenko are returning after six months in space where they served as members of the Expedition 46 and 47 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency (ESA) has her Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for her launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for the early hours of Nov. 24 and will carry Cristoforetti and fellow crewmates, Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), and Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA, into orbit to begin their five and a half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)