Daily Archives: March 24, 2024

SpaceX launched its 30th cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA this afternoon (March 21), carrying 3 tons of supplies and scientific hardware to the orbiting lab.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying an uncrewed Cargo Dragon spacecraft lifted off today at 4:55 p.m. EDT (2055 GMT) from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The mission, known as CRS-30, was the first cargo launch from SLC-40 since March 2020. Since then, the pad has been outfitted with a new launch tower, which allows for more efficient cargo loading and upgrades the facility to support crewed launches as well.

Related: SpaceX to launch 30th cargo mission to the ISS for NASA this week

Before the SLC-40 upgrades, "we loaded cargo while the vehicle was still horizontal using a mobile cleanroom before we would take the vehicle vertical for lunch, but thanks to this new state of the art crew tower, required for our human spaceflight missions, that late-load cargo operation got a massive upgrade, too," Sarah Walker, director of SpaceX Dragon mission management, said during a pre-launch press briefing on Tuesday (March 19).

"It's much easier to load a huge complement of time-critical NASA science into our Dragon spacecraft in the flight orientation," she added.

The Falcon 9's first stage booster came back to Earth as planned today, making a vertical touchdown at SpaceX's Landing Zone-1, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, about eight minutes after launch. It was the sixth launch and landing for the booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.

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The CRS-30's Cargo Dragon capsule separated from the rocket's upper stage just under 12 minutes after launch. The spacecraft will spend around two days en route to the ISS, with a rendezvous and docking scheduled for 7:30 a.m. EDT on Saturday (March 23). You can watch that orbital meetup live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, beginning at 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT) on Saturday.

Over 6,000 pounds (2,721 kilograms) of scientific supplies, maintenance equipment, two new coffee kits, fresh fruits and vegetables and other food for the station's inhabitants are stowed aboard Dragon on CRS-30. Included in that haul is a new spare pump stored in Dragon's trunk, which will be integrated into the space station's external thermal loop system.

In addition to materials to support ongoing research aboard the orbital laboratory, a number of new science investigations are also aboard CRS-30 to enrich our understanding of the effects of microgravity on a range of biological and technological processes.

TheNano Particle Haloing Suspensionexperiment, for example, will study nanoparticles' reaction to electrical fields, and their use to help synthesize semiconductor material known as "quantum dots," which holds the potential to greatly increase the efficiency of solar panel technology.

The Multi-resolution Scanner (MRS)experiment will utilize the existing autonomous Astrobee robots aboard the ISS to test 3D mapping technology. "The team has big plans for future applications [of this technology] in spaceflight," said Heidi Parris, associate program scientist at NASA's ISS Program Research Office. "If it works well inside the ISS, this technology could be developed to use for scanning of exterior hull damage on the ISS or other space stations, as well as lunar and Martian surface scanning."

Parris highlighted a number of other investigations during Tuesday's press call as well, including the APEX-09 experiment to examine the genetic makeup of plants in microgravity.

CRS-30 "is also going to launch research into many, many other areas, including cellular microbiology, crystal growth, astrophysics, human research, material science and much more," Parris said.

CRS-30 will remain docked to the Harmony module's zenith (upward-facing) port for about a month before deorbiting and returning to Earth. Dragon is the only cargo vehicle currently able to withstand reentry forces through Earth's atmosphere, and it's therefore used to return a number of research materials and other spent items from the space station.

The other two currently operational cargo vehicles Northrup Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft and Russia's Progress vessel are designed to burn up upon reentry.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 5:15 p.m. ET on March 21 with news of successful rocket launch, first-stage landing and Dragon deployment.

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SpaceX launches its 30th Dragon cargo mission to the ISS (video) - Space.com

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HOUSTONNASAs 30th SpaceX-contracted commercial resupply (CRS-30) mission autonomously docked to the U. S. segment of the International Space Station (ISS) early March 23, delivering a 6,300-lb. payload of crew supplies, scientific and technology research and demonstration materials and station...

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SpaceX Resupply Mission Docks With Space Station - Aviation Week

The International Space Station (ISS) welcomed cargo and prepared for a new crew arrival Saturday, as SpaceXs CRS-30 Cargo Dragon docked at the sprawling orbital outpost at 7:19 a.m. EDT and Soyuz MS-25crewed by Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson and the first national space traveler of Belarus, Marina Vasilevskayatook flight from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 5:36:10 p.m. local time (8:36:10 a.m. EDT). Elsewhere, at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, following a one-day weather delay, SpaceX is gearing up for its ninth Falcon 9 launch of March early on Saturday evening.

Laden with more than 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of payloads, equipment and supplies for the incumbent Expedition 70, CRS-30 is the 30th Cargo Dragon resupply mission to the space station, conducted under the second-round Commercial Resupply Services (CRS2) contract between NASA and SpaceX. A six-times-used Falcon lifted the four-times-flown Cargo Dragon ship from storied Space Launch Complex (SLC)-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., at 4:55 p.m. EDT Thursday, for a 38.5-hour, 25-orbit rendezvous and phasing profile to reach the station.

With SLC-40 back in service for Dragon operations for the first time since March 2020, CRS-30s haul of cargo includes an experiment to investigate the carbon dioxide capturing mechanisms of two types of grasses to better understand changes in photosynthesis and plant metabolism in space, a multi-resolution scanner for the stations on-board Astrobee robotic helper to support three-dimensional sensing, mapping and situational awareness functions and a deployable CubeSat to measure ocean ice levels and thickness. Also aboard the Cargo Dragon is a replacement ISS pump module, along with goodies for the Expedition 70 crew ranging from citrus fruit and apples to cherry tomatoes to two coffee kits.

This particular Cargo Dragon ship, tailnumbered C209, is making her fourth trek to the station after previously supporting a trio of month-long ISS research trips in summer 2021 and more recently over the Christmas/New Year period in December 2021-January 2022 and latterly in the spring of last year. Across those three missions, she logged over 102 cumulative days in space, transporting more than 20,200 pounds (9,100 kilograms) of cargo to the ISS and returning 14,500 pounds (6,600 kilograms) of research samples and unneeded hardware back to Earth.

In readiness for CRS-30s arrival, Expedition 70 astronauts Loral OHara and Mike Barratt spent Friday reviewing procedures for their monitoring role in the rendezvous. The Cargo Dragon docked autonomously at the space-facing (or zenith) port of the Harmony node at 7:19 a.m. EDT for a month-long stay.

Attention then turned to Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where a 162-foot-tall (49-meter) Soyuz-2.1 booster stood primed with the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft to loft a new crew to the station. Originally scheduled to fly at 6:21:18 p.m. local time (9:21:18 a.m. EDT) Thursday, the launch was scrubbed inside T-20 seconds and teams recycled for a backup opportunity early Saturday morning. The two-day delay also forced an adjustment to Soyuz MS-25s orbital mechanics and phasing, as Novitsky, Dyson and Vasilevskaya shifted from a three-hour and two-orbit ultra-fast rendezvous profile to a longer approach of two days and 32 orbits.

With temperatures in the mid-50s Fahrenheit, a little warmer than Thursday, todays launch day dawned fine if overcast at Baikonur. The prime crew and their backupsRussian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner, U.S. astronaut Don Pettit and Anastasia Lenkova of Belaruswere awakened early Thursday and showered, dressed and ceremonially autographed their doors at Baikonurs Cosmonaut Hotel.

A solemn blessing by a Russian Orthodox priest was followed by Novitsky, Dyson and Vasilevskaya getting bussed out to Site 254 to don their Sokol (Falcon) launch and entry suits. That gave the crew a last chance to speak (from behind glass screens) with friends and loved ones.

They were then bussed out to Site 31/6 to board Soyuz MS-25, with Novitsky assuming the center commanders seat in the tiny descent module, flanked by Vasilevskaya to his left and Dyson to his right. In the final minutes of the countdown, Russian music was piped into the Soyuz cabin for the crews benefit.

At T-5 minutes, the launch keyan actual, physical key, inserted in the launch pad bunker to transition the boosters launch sequence to autonomous modewas inserted and Novitskys controls were unlocked. Internal avionics aboard Soyuz MS-25 were spooled up in readiness for liftoff.

As the countdown entered the final minute, all eyes were focused on the launch pads two umbilical towers, both of which were set to retract and recline to their fallback positions in the final seconds before liftoff. The second of these towers, which normally retracts about 15 seconds prior to T-0 marking the initiation of engine sequence start, did not separate last Thursday and the launch was aborted.

On Saturday, by contract, the launch proved charmed. Vehicle to internal power, came the call from the Russian announcer as the first umbilical tower swung away at T-30 seconds. Autosequence initiated, she followed, as the second tower retracted a few seconds past T-20 seconds. Then: LaunchIgnitionEngines to maximum thrust

At 5:36:10 p.m. local time (8:36:10 a.m. EDT), a dull ruddy glow from the rockets RD-108A core stage and four RD-107A tapering boosters appeared at the base of the Soyuz-2.1a as Novitsky, Dyson and Vasilevskaya braced for liftoff. We now have engine ignition, said NASAs Rob Navias. Turbopumps and engines up to flight speednow at full throttleWe have liftoff: Dyson, Novitsky and Vasilevskaya finally underway on a two-day journey to the International Space Station

Heading out of Baikonur on a northeasterly trajectory, the rocket punched out 930,000 pounds (422,000 kilograms) of thrust and it roared smoothly into steadily darkening skies. Ascent was entirely nominal and Soyuz MS-25 separated from the rocket precisely on time at eight minutes and 46 seconds into the flight.

Novitsky, Dyson and Vasilevskaya are scheduled to dock at the Earth-facing (or nadir) port of the stations Prichal module at 11:09 a.m. EDT on Monday, after a 38.5-hour, 25-orbit voyage, lengthened from the nominal three-hour and two-orbit ultra-fast rendezvous regime by orbital mechanics and phasing demands. Before launch, Dyson remarked that she was particularly looking forward to a short trek to the ISS, having endured an uncomfortable two-day ride in the tiny Soyuz cabin for her last mission in 2010. Doubtless, the wait for her next long-duration station stay will be worth it.

Meanwhile, following a day-long weather delay, SpaceX is looking to a four-hour window later tonight for its ninth Falcon 9 mission of March. Scrubbed on Friday night due to weather odds that climbed no better than 20-percent-favorabletempered by gusty winds, showers and isolated thunderstorms across the Space Coastteams realigned for a four-hour launch window opening at 7:39 p.m. EDT and closing at 11:29 p.m. EDT Saturday.

Laden with 23 Starlink internet communications satellites, workhorse B1060the fourth booster to reach a life-leading 19th launch and the third to do so this yearwill rise from historic Pad 39A at Floridas Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the ninth Falcon 9 mission of March and the 28th of the year so far. An on-time launch will permit the deployment of the Starlink payload about 65 minutes into the flight.

Weather predictions are kinder for Saturday, with up to an 80-percent Probability of Go (PGo), according to forecasters at the 45th Weather Squadron at Patrick Space Force Base. Low pressure will be tracking up the Eastern Seaboard, it reported, leaving the Spaceport with northwesterly winds and isolated, wrap-around showers and yielding a primary risk of violating the Cumulus Cloud Rule and Liftoff Winds Rule, associated with the isolated showers. A scrub to Sundays 7:06 p.m. EDT launch time brings increased gradient winds, with lessened chances of showers but a heightened probability of wind violations.

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Space Station Welcomes Cargo, Awaits Crew Arrival - AmericaSpace

A Soyuz MS-25 vehicle successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Saturday and is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station Monday. Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE

March 23 (UPI) -- A Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft headed to the International Space Station successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Saturday and has entered near-Earth orbit, officials said.

The spacecraft, crewed by NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus, lifted off at 8:36 a.m. EDT, the Russian state news agency TASS reported.

The spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the space station's Prichal nodal module at about 11:09 a.m. on Monday, according to NASA.

Vasilevskaya is Belarus' first astronaut to join a space mission. She and Novitskiy are scheduled to spend 12 days on the space station before returning to Earth on the Soyuz MS-24 along with NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara on April 6.

Dyson is scheduled to return with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and Nikolay Chub in September.

Saturday's successful launch occurred two days after an initial launch was scrubbed 20 seconds prior to liftoff Thursday.

NASA spokesman Rob Navias said the engines did not fire as intended, which triggered an automatic abort system. Roscosmos engineers removed the crew and secured the rocket after ceasing fueling operations Thursday.

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Soyuz MS-25 flight to Space Station launches successfully after Thursday's scrub - UPI News

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MOSCOW Two astronauts from Belarus and the U.S. have set off for the International Space Station together with a Russian cosmonaut, marking the first time that a woman from Belarus is traveling to space.

The Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft lifted off from Russias Baikonur Cosmodrome in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 1236 GMT.

A first launch attempt had been aborted 20 seconds before takeoff on Thursday due to technical problems.

Saturdays launch saw Belorussian astronaut Marina Vasilevskaya, who is being accompanied by NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, becoming the first woman from her country to make it into space.

Space cooperation between the U.S. and Russia, including Moscows ally Belarus, continues despite the U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine.

The launch also saw two women aboard a Soyuz capsule flying to the ISS for the first time.

This is Dysons third flight into space and Novitskys fourth.

Vasilevskaya works as a flight attendant for the Belorussian company Belavia. During her two-week stay on the ISS, she will carry out scientific experiments and take spectral images of the Earths surface.

According to Russian space agency Roskosmos, she will return to Earth with Novitsky and U.S. astronaut Loral OHara in the Soyuz MS-24 at the beginning of April.

Dyson will remain on the ISS until September and will then travel home with cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub.

Kononenko, 59, holds the record for the longest stay on the ISS.

By the end of his fifth current stay there, scheduled until Sept. 23, he will have spent more than 1,000 days in space.

More:
Soyuz rocket carrying first Belorussian woman in space en route to ISS - The Spokesman Review

NASA selected 10 small research satellites across eight states to fly to the International Space Station as part of the agencys efforts to expand education and science opportunities, support technology advancement, and provide for workforce development.

These small satellites, or CubeSats, use a standard size and form measured in units. One unit (1U) is 10x10x11 centimeters and allows for the modular design of larger CubeSats measuring up to 12U. CubeSats encourage greater collaboration across government, industry, and academia because they are modular and inexpensive to build and launch. The small satellites allow for rapid development and provide a cost-effective means for science investigations and technology demonstrations in space.

This years selections include the first project from Delaware, three from minority serving institutions, and a submission from a K-12 school. New participants include the University of Delaware, Oakwood School in California, California State University, Long Beach, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and the University of Chicago.

NASAs CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) selected the missions, currently planned to launch in 2025 to 2028, in response to a call for proposals on Aug. 7, 2023.

The complete list of organizations and CubeSats chosen during CSLI 15th selection round are:

NASA has selected CubeSat missions from 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and launched about 160 CubeSats into space on an ELaNa (Educational Launch of a Nanosatellite) manifest.

The CubeSat Launch Initiative is managed by NASAs Launch Services Program based at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For more information about CSLI, visit:

https://go.nasa.gov/CubeSat_initiative

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NASA Selects New Round of Candidates for CubeSat Missions to Station - NASA

Expedition 70 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps prepares tubes to collect samples from the crew for the Immunity Assay investigation.

One crew and one cargo spacecraft on two different continents are counting down to launch as the seven orbital residents aboard the International Space Station spent Wednesday exploring how space affects the immune system, carrying out robotics activities, and connecting with students on Earth.

Three crew members are gearing up to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday, March 21. NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, and Flight Engineer Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus will lift off aboard the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft at 9:21 a.m. EDT and take a short ride to the station, docking only a few hours later at 12:39 p.m., joining the Expedition 70 crew in microgravity. This will be Dysons third trip to the orbital complex, where she will spend six months conducting research in low Earth orbit.

Only a few hours after the crew arrives, NASAs SpaceX 30th commercial resupply mission will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida. The Dragon cargo craft, scheduled to launch at 4:55 p.m. on Thursday, will carry an array of new science and technology investigations, as well as food and supplies for the crew. Dragon will orbit Earth before autonomously docking to the zenith port of the Harmony module at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, March 23.

In microgravity, the crew split up duties on Wednesday as they prepare for the upcoming station traffic. In the morning, Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick of NASA collected samples for the Immunity Assay investigation. Afterward, Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps of NASA processed the samples for the experiment. Immunity Assay looks at the impact of spaceflight on cellular immune functions in blood samples, tests that could only previously be conducted on Earth. With new tech, processing samples inflight helps researchers gain a better understanding of astronauts immune changes during long-duration space missions.

Dominick and Epps later teamed up to reconfigure some of the cameras aboard station that the crew uses to take photos of research, Earth, and more.

In the Japanese Experiment Module, Flight Engineer Michael Barratt of NASA powered on the free-flying Astrobee robots and conducted a Zero Robotics tech demonstration. Zero Robotics allows students on Earth to write software to control Astrobee, inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers.

Afterward, Barratt teamed up with Flight Engineer Loral OHara of NASA to conduct an ISS Ham Radio session with a school in Greece. During the session, Barratt and OHara answered questions from students about living and working in space.

In the Nauka module, Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub replaced air ventilation filters, then moved on to collect and process water samples from the Roscosmos water processing system. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin practiced his piloting techniques during a Pilot-T session, while Commander Oleg Kononenko prepped for Soyuzs arrival as he will be on deck to monitor the autonomous docking of the spacecraft.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Immunology Studies and Robotics for Orbital Residents as Crew and Cargo Craft Count Down to Launch - NASA Blogs

Update for 1 p.m. ET: The abort of today's Soyuz launch may have been due to a dead battery. "The reason has been identified, we just discovered at a meeting of the state commission that the reason was a voltage drop in the chemical current source," Roscosmos General Director Yuri Borisov said in a statement posted to the Russian space agency's Telegram account today.

A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying three astronauts bound for the International Space Station experienced a rare abort on the launch pad on Thursday (March 21) while the crew waited expectantly inside their spacecraft.

The abort occurred just 21 seconds before the Soyuz rocket was to launch NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiyand spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus to the International Space Station (ISS) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Liftoff was scheduled for 9:21 a.m. EDT (1321 GMT).

"The Soyuz launch to the space station has been aborted," NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said during live commentary. "So, no visitors to the International Space Station today. The next opportunity to launch, pending resolution of what happened today, would be Saturday morning," he added.

Related:International Space Station Everything you need to know

Navias said the abort was triggered by an automatic system shortly before engine ignition; two umbilical connections were retracted away from the rocket ahead of the planned launch. Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, sent engineers to the launch pad shortly after the abort to make sure the vehicle was safe and crew could be extracted.

"The vehicle is safe, all fueling operations have ceased," Navias said. "All safety commands have been provided onboard the rocket so there's no danger to the crew. They're perfectly safe."

NASA's Mission Control center radioed news of the launch abort to astronauts aboard the ISS shortly after it occurred. Flight controllers made it clear the Soyuz crew was safe.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

"Station copies; aborted," station commander Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency replied. "Most importantly, Station copies crew are safe."

Russia's Soyuz rockets and crewed Soyuz spacecraft are workhorse transport vehicles that regularly fly cosmonauts and astronauts to and from the ISS. Roscosmos has used the spacecraft for crewed flights throughout the 24-year history of the ISS, as well as during its previous Mir space station program.

An abort just before launch is exceedingly rare for Soyuz rockets. In October 2018, a Soyuz rocket carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonautAlexey Ovchinin suffered an in-flight abort that forced the crew's Soyuz capsule to rip free from its rocket and make a harrowing emergency landing. That abort was traced to a deformed sensor on the Soyuz rocket.

Dyson, Novitskiyand Vasilevskaya are set to launch on a mission to join the ongoing crew on the International Space Station. Dyson and Novitskiyplan to spend six months aboard the space station as part of its Expedition 71 crew, while Vasilevskaya is set to embark on a 12-day stay and return home with the outgoing Expedition 70 crew.

Exactly when the three space travelers will launch, however, is unclear. While Roscosmos has said the next window to launch the trio will open on Saturday, engineers with Soyuz rocket maker Energia will have to understand why today's Soyuz launch aborted and perform any fixes that may be required. NASA has pledged to share updates as they are received from Roscosmos and Energia.

Meanwhile, in Florida, another rocket is counting down to launch to the ISS today.

An uncrewed SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo ship are scheduled to launch more than 2 tons of fresh supplies to the ISS from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff for that mission is scheduled for 4:55 p.m. EDT (2055 GMT) and should continue as planned, Navias said.

"The preliminary word is that the Falcon 9 launch of the CRS-30 resupply mission to the station will likely proceed as planned today," he added.

NASA and SpaceX will provide a livestream of the CRS-30 cargo launch, beginning at 4:35 p.m. EDT (2035 GMT).

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Russian Soyuz rocket suffers rare last-minute abort during launch of 3 astronauts to ISS (video) - Space.com

A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch three people, including one NASA astronaut, toward the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday morning (March 23), and you can watch the action live.

The rocket is scheduled to launch the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Saturday at 8:36 a.m. EDT (1236 GMT). You can watch live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency. Coverage will begin at 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT).

MS-25 was originally supposed to lift off on Thursday (March 21), but an electrical issue with the Soyuz rocket forced an abort 21 seconds before the planned launch.

Related:International Space Station Everything you need to know

Riding on Soyuz MS-25 will be NASA's Tracy C. Dyson, cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and Marina Vasilevskaya, a spaceflight participant from Belarus.

If all goes according to plan, the trio will arrive at the ISS on Monday (March 25) at 11:09 a.m. EDT (1503 GMT). You can watch that orbital rendezvous here at Space.com as well, beginning at 10:15 a.m. EDT (1415 GMT) on Monday.

Coverage will resume at 1:15 p.m. EDT (1715 GMT), to show the hatches opening between the Soyuz and the ISS and air welcoming remarks from the orbiting lab's current residents. Hatch opening is expected around 1:40 p.m. EDT (1740 GMT).

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Saturday's launch will kick off the third spaceflight for Dyson, the fourth for Novitskiy and the first for Vasilevskaya. The latter two spaceflyers will be in orbit for just 12 days or so; they'll come back to Earth in early April aboard a different Soyuz, along with NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, who's wrapping up a 6.5-month stint on the ISS.

Dyson will live aboard the orbiting lab for six months, eventually coming home in September with Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub of Roscosmos, who are conducting a yearlong mission on the ISS.

The Soyuz mission will be the second launch to the ISS in just a few days; SpaceX launched a robotic cargo mission to the station on Thursday at 4:55 p.m. EDT (2055 GMT).

Editor's note: This story was updated at 5:15 p.m. EDT on March 22 with the new target launch and docking dates of March 23 and March 25, respectively.

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Watch Russian Soyuz rocket launch 3 spaceflyers to the ISS on March 23 - Space.com