Soyuz MS-16

Crew

Christopher Cassidy

Flight Engineer

Status: Active
1/4/1970 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Christopher John "Chris" Cassidy is a NASA astronaut and United States Navy SEAL. Chris Cassidy achieved the rank of Captain in the U.S. Navy. He was the Chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA from July 2015 until June 2017.

Cassidy attended York High School, in York, Maine. He then graduated from the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1989. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the United States Naval Academy in 1993 and a Master of Science degree in Ocean Engineering from MIT in 2000. While in the Navy, Cassidy passed BUD/S and became a Navy SEAL. While a SEAL he served several tours of duty supporting the fight in the War on Terror. His first spaceflight was on Space Shuttle mission STS-127, and his second was as a flight engineer for Expedition 35/36, launched aboard Soyuz TMA-08M. He was in space between July 15–31, 2009 and March 28 – September 10, 2013. Cassidy has worked as a CAPCOM for both International Space Station and Space Shuttle missions in the past.

Anatoli Ivanishin

Commander

Status: Active
1/15/1969 -
Nationality: Russian
Type: Government
Agency: Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS)

Anatoli Alekseyevich Ivanishin (Russian: Анатолий Алексеевич Иванишин; born 15 January 1969 in Irkutsk) is a Russian cosmonaut. His first visit to space was to the International Space Station on board the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft as an Expedition 29 / Expedition 30 crew member, launching in November 2011 and returning in April 2012. Ivanishin was the Commander of the International Space Station for Expedition 49.

Ivan Vagner

Flight Engineer

Status: Active
7/10/1985 -
Nationality: Russian
Type: Government
Agency: Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS)

Ivan Viktorovitch Vagner is a Russian Engineer and Cosmonaut who was selected in October 2010. He graduated from the Baltic State Technical University in 2008, before working as an engineer for RKK Energia.

Mission

Soyuz MS-16

Type: Human Exploration

Soyuz MS-16 begins expedition 62 by carrying Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoli Ivanishin, Ivan Vagner and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, they will rendezvous to the station where they will remain for their 6 month stay.

Location

31/6

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

465 launches have been at this location.

Rocket

Soyuz 2.1A

Length: 46.3 meters
Diameter: 2.95 meters
First Launched: November 4, 2004

The Soyuz 2.1A converted the flight control system from analog to digital, which allowed launch from fixed platforms. It also allowed big fairings and payloads.

The Soyuz 2.1A rocket has been launched a total of 22 times with 21 successful and 1 failed launches.

Agency

Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS)

Type: Government
Abbreviation: RFSA
Administration: Administrator: Dmitry Rogozin
Founded: 1992
Launchers: Soyuz
Spacecraft: Soyuz
Country: RUS

The Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, commonly known as Roscosmos, is the governmental body responsible for the space science program of the Russian Federation and general aerospace research. Soyuz has many launch locations the Russian sites are Baikonur, Plesetsk and Vostochny however Ariane also purchases the vehicle and launches it from French Guiana.